A banana a day - or rather ensuring you have a regular dose of what's called "resistant starch" - can reduce the occurrence of certain forms of inherited cancer.
That's according to an international clinical trial led by eminent Newcastle medical figures. The trial - CAPP2 - involved almost 1,000 patients who have Lynch syndrome.
Lynch syndrome is a genetic condition which makes someone more susceptible to various forms of cancer. Bowel cancer is one of the major issues in people with Lynch, but cancers of the oesophagus, stomach and pancreas are also frequently seen. The CAPP2 trial has found that though resistant starch - found in foods such as oats, breakfast cereal, cooked and cooled pasta or rice, peas and beans and slightly green bananas - doesn't have an impact on bowel cancer rates, it does reduce the risk of many others..
