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Dear Thriver,
Pumpkins have great PR. Every fall, they're celebrated in pies, lattes, and social media posts. They also show up in headlines alongside words like superfood, antioxidants, and even cancer prevention.
So I thought this would be a great opportunity for another Research Meets Real Life issue of the Colorectal Cancer Research Digest, where I take a seasonal topic, everyday question, or common health claim, unpack the research, and help you digest it.
I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by how much research I found.
With gratitude,
Mary
🍽️ The Digest: Pumpkins, vegetables, and colorectal cancer
Year published: 2011
How the research was done
Researchers in Australia compared the diets of 834 people with colorectal cancer and 939 people without colorectal cancer.
Participants completed food frequency questionnaires, allowing researchers to examine whether fruit and vegetable intake differed between people with and without colorectal cancer.
What made this study unique was that the researchers didn't treat colorectal cancer as a single disease. Instead, they looked separately at different parts of the colon: proximal (right-sided) colon, distal (left-sided) colon, and rectum.
What researchers found
One of the most interesting findings was that the associations were not the same:
Higher intake of brassica vegetables (such as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower) was associated with a lower risk of proximal colon cancer.
Higher intake of dark yellow vegetables, including pumpkins and carrots, was associated with a lower risk of distal colon cancer.
Strikingly, higher fruit juice intake was associated with a higher risk of rectal cancer.
Why this caught my attention
I originally went looking for a study on pumpkin and colorectal cancer. What I found instead was that pumpkin is often studied as part of a broader group of foods rather than on its own. That means we can learn not only about pumpkin, but also about other foods and beverages and their potential links with colorectal cancer.
🎬 Research Meets Real Life Video: Going behind the headlines: Pumpkins and colorectal cancer
There turned out to be far more to unpack about pumpkins and colorectal cancer than I could fit into this month's Digest.
So I created a video where we go behind the headlines and into the research on this little gourd, the claims made about it, and what the research actually says.
🎃 Pumpkin in real life: What does this mean for me?
I wasn't expecting a pumpkin search to take me down quite such a research rabbit hole.
My biggest takeaway? Pumpkin doesn't need to be a superfood to earn a place on the table. It's affordable, versatile, and an easy way to add colour and variety to meals.
I tried to turn one of my favourite pumpkin dishes into a recipe for this newsletter, but it's not really a recipe because I mostly make it by feel.
Mary's Not-Really-a-Recipe Pumpkin-Miso Noodles
Roast pumpkin until tender.
Blend or process it into a smooth purée.
Stir in a spoonful of miso.
Add a splash of water or pasta cooking water until it reaches a sauce-like consistency.
Toss with pasta or noodles.
Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley.
That's it. This dish is on our fall and winter rotation, and my kids love it.
I'd love to hear from you. If you have an actual pumpkin recipe, please send it my way! If we receive enough submissions, perhaps we'll create a future Digest Community Pumpkin Recipe Collection featuring your favourite ways to enjoy pumpkin.
🎃 Happy pumpkin season!
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Talk soon,
Mary, Alexander, and Joy — The Colorectal Cancer Research Digest editorial team
