They suggest that changes to farming methods over the past 100 years may have contributed to the growth in bowel cancer rates. Bowel cancer is the second-most common cancer in the UK and kills nearly 20,000 people every year. However, if it is diagnosed early it is easily treatable. The researchers are working on a study which indicates that Aspirin may be effective in fighting bowel cancer. Aspirin link They are carrying out two trials on people with a predisposition to developing the disease.
Initial results show that salicylates, the active ingredient in Aspirin, is proving effective.
However, salicylates used to be a common component of many plants and vegetables. All green plants generate salicylates as part of a natural defence mechanism. This means that when a leaf or other part of the plant is infected, it generates salicylates which in turn localises the infection and ensures that it does not affect the rest of the plant. This in turn, they suggest, could prevent the human body from properly fighting bowel cancer. Modern farming methods mean that we do not eat plants with black spots or infections.