Lymphoma: Nutritional Considerations

Few research studies have addressed associations between diet and risk for lymphoma. The following factors have been under study for possible roles in reducing risk:

• Reducing or avoiding intake of animal products: Compared with individuals who eat beef, pork, or lamb less than once per week, those who eat these foods daily had more than twice the risk for non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Intake of foods high in saturated fat, particularly hamburger and other red meats, was also associated with roughly twice the risk.
  
  Lymphoma risk is one and a half times greater for persons who drink the most milk, compared with those who drink the least. Individuals who drink more than two glasses of milk per day have three times the lymphoma risk of those who drink less than one glass per day.
• Reducing intake of fats, particularly trans fats: The evidence linking total fat intake to lymphoma is not as strong as that linking saturated fat to the disease. Nevertheless, a high intake of foods with transfatty acids (partially hydrogenated oils, as are often found in fried foods, “fast foods,” some margarines, and commercial baked goods) is associated with 2.4 times the risk for lymphoma in persons eating the greatest amount of these fats, compared with those who eat the least. Individuals eating the highest amount of total fat have a 28 percent higher risk for lymphoma than those eating the least.
• Increasing intake of fruits and vegetables: Compared with women eating three daily servings of fruits and vegetables, those who ate six or more servings per day had a 40 percent lower risk for non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Cruciferous vegetables may be particularly protective: Women consuming them two or more times a week had a 30 percent lower risk for non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma, compared with women who ate these vegetables less than twice per month.
• A high–fiber diet: Individuals consuming the largest amount of whole grains or dietary fiber from fruits and vegetables had roughly half the risk for non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma, compared with those eating the least amount from these food categories.
• A gluten–free diet for individuals with celiac disease: Patients with celiac disease have a higher risk for several types of cancer, and their risk for non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma is nine times that of the general population. Their risk for cancer is reduced considerably with a gluten–free diet. However, the risk for non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma in these patients is still six times that of the general population.
• Maintenance of a healthy weight: Studies suggest that being significantly overweight may increase the risk for non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The risk for lymphoma associated with obesity has ranged from one and a half times greater in obese persons (those with a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2) and two times greater in more severely obese persons (with a body mass index greater than >35 kg/m2), compared with normal–weight individuals.