Colon cancer research

MILAN, Italy -- Not everything that tastes good is bad for you! Italian researchers have found that pizza reduces the odds of getting cancer.

The researchers interviewed more than 8,300 people for their study. They discovered that eating pizza at least once a week reduced the risk of colon cancer by 26 percent, mouth cancer by 34 percent, and esophageal cancer by 59 percent. The colon is the main part of the large intestine and does the job of turning the body's liquid waste into feces. The esophagus is a muscular tube that leads from the mouth to the stomach.

Before you rush to the phone to call Domino's, consider this: The researchers say the good effects of pizza are due not so much to the pie itself as to one of its ingredients: tomato sauce. Tomatoes contain an antioxidant called lycopene, the same substance that makes tomatoes red. An antioxidant stops chemicals in the body from reacting with oxygen. Past research has indicated that lycopene helps fight some forms of cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis, a disease of aging in which the bones become weaker and more likely to break.

The Italian study, which was done at the Mario Negir Institute for Pharmaceutical Research, also noted the overall health benefits of the "Mediterranean diet," of which pizza often plays one part. The Mediterranean diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, olive oil, cereals, and fish. A recent study conducted by the University of Athens and Harvard University found that people who routinely ate typical Mediterranean fare were less likely to suffer from heart disease and cancer. Italian pizza is usually lower in high-fat cheeses and fatty meats than most of the pizza that is popular in North America.