Dietary glutamic acid linked to lower risk of colorectal cancer

(HealthDay)—Dietary glutamic acid intake is associated with reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC), according to a study published online Dec. 30 in Cancer.

Gilson G. Viana Veloso, M.D., from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues examined the correlation between dietary glutamic acid intake with CRC risk, and whether the correlation was modified by body mass index (BMI). The study was embedded in the Rotterdam study, which included a prospective cohort of 5,362 adults aged 55 years or older.

The researchers found that 242 subjects developed CRC during follow-up. There was a significant correlation between baseline dietary glutamic acid intake with lower risk of developing CRC (hazard ratio per percent increase in glutamic acid of protein, 0.78; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.62 to 0.99). The risk reduction for CRC by dietary glutamic acid was significant for participants with a BMI of ≤25 kg/m² after stratification by BMI (hazard ratio per percent increase in glutamic acid of protein, 0.58; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.40 to 0.85); no correlation was seen for participants with BMI >25 kg/m² (hazard ratio per percent increase in glutamic acid of protein, 0.97; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.73 to 1.31).

"Our data suggest that baseline dietary glutamic acid intake is associated with a lower risk of developing CRC, but this association may be mainly present in non-overweight subjects," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the nutrition and insurance industries.