Folic acid (a B vitamin) in women. In a study of over 100,000, it was found that the more folate women ate in food, the lower their risk of pancreatic cancer. The effect was not seen in men.1

My 2 cents: A main source of folic acid is cereal and bread. Since 1996 refined grains have been fortified with folic acid to prevent neural tube birth defects—cancer prevention is apparently a welcome fringe benefit. But how many cancers could have been prevented if folic acid hadn't been refined out of grains in the first place? Also, cereals and bread grains are “fortified” with iron (mainly to prevent anemia in kids and menstruating women). However, at the age range in this study (55-74), extra iron from those cereals may actually create health problems. 2Having more iron than we need in our bodies increases the risk of some cancers. 3What I'm saying is that the folic acid might have shown even more benefit if it hadn't come with extra iron. I recommend we eat food in its original state. That avoids the guesswork of “how much?” and “in what form?” to add back nutrients as so-called “fortification”.

¦ Higher dietary magnesium intake in overweight men. A significant association with magnesium was only found in men whose body mass index score was 25 or greater. 4

My 2 cents: The average man in the US has a Body Mass Index of 28 which is obviously in that range. Hopefully, research will soon tell us why only overweight men had significant pancreatic protective effects from higher magnesium intake. It may relate to magnesium's role in blood sugar management which affects the pancreas and weight gain. But then magnesium is involved in hundreds of the body's processes, so who knows?

¦ Omega 3 fat / Vitamins C and E. This abstract starts by noting that smoking is the most well-established risk factor for pancreatic cancer. It goes on to say that higher amounts of omega 3 fats (e.g. fish oil), vitamin C and E from supplements (not just food) all showed significant protective effects. Higher amounts of saturated fat sent the statistics the wrong direction. 5

My 2 cents: While we are waiting for the experts to “prove” this association with many more studies, there are plenty of other reasons to take fish oil , vitamin C and vitamin E . In my article at that link I recommend a vitamin E complex that has all the tocopherols and Tocotrienols, not just d-alpha and certainly not the synthetic dl-alpha. As for the saturated fat component, I'm always suspicious of these studies because our cancer protected hunter-gather ancestors ate all the saturated fat they could get their hands. However, it was from range fed animals and was high in omega 3. The sources of saturated fat tallied in studies today too often include damaged fats such as shortening, and those tied to more toxic sources like antibiotic fed cows, processed hot dogs and smoked meats. Those confuse the issues.

¦ Vegetables and vegetable products. This Canadian study found that pancreatic cancer risk was significantly reduced in those eating diets higher in vegetable material compared to those who ate more animal products.

My 2 cents: Many studies have shown protective benefit from eating fruits and vegetables and it makes sense because the plants give us antioxidants, fiber and minerals like magnesium. Is it the presence of the veggies in the one group more than the fact that they ate less meat? Also, I always wonder whether the vegetable eaters aren't more conscientious about other health practices. For example, researchers adjusted for subjects that smoked and had diabetes, but apparently not for whether they exercised, got sunshine, took supplements, avoided medications and alcohol. 6 That said, do eat the veggies!

¦ Whole grains. Just 2 servings a day of whole grains such as brown rice compared to 1 serving was protective.

My 2 cents: In addition to whole grains being more nutritious because the bran and germ have not been removed, they are not “fortified” with iron. Iron as mentioned under folic acid above, can be another negative issue. 7

¦ Supplemental Vitamin D (up to a 43% reduced risk). Extremely large long-term studies by Harvard and Northwestern showed significant benefit from as little as 400 IU a day of supplemental vitamin D. The reference I list here is a recent review of the many types of cancer for which there is good evidence of protection by vitamin D. 8

My 2 cents: When all the “experts” told us to stay out of the sun, it seems they forgot to mention that the original plan called for us to get sunshine as the means of our making this important substance. Read more about the amazing role of Vitamin D —it is used by every cell in the body.

Soft drinks increased risk. This study of over 60,000 Chinese subjects, which controlled for a bunch of other factors and followed up for 14 years, showed an 87% increased risk pancreatic cancer from consumption of soft drinks. It took as little as 2 per day. 9

My 2 cents: A weaknesses in the statistics is that there were such a small number of cancer cases. (Not surprising given that the Chinese eat a lot of protective vegetables, drink tea, etc.) But on the other hand, science continues to add the list of conditions for which soft drinks are in part to blame. (e.g. Type 2 Diabetes.) There is no redeeming nutritional value to soft drinks . And the diet sodas may be worse.

¦ Donuts. The study on whole grains found that while fiber decreased risk, consumption of a couple of donuts a week increased risk significantly. 10

My 2 cents: Before you ask Dunkin' Donuts ® to add a high fiber donut to their menu, remember that the problem isn't just that donuts have no fiber. They are perhaps the poster child of bad food. Besides the sugar, the damaged fats and the iron fortification in the white flour, when carbohydrates are heated to high temperatures they form acrylimides. These are toxic and have been shown to be carcinogenic in animals and are strongly suspected as such in humans.

¦ Cooked cereals. In the study on whole grains, those who ate the most cooked cereals compared to the least had an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Oatmeal was less of a problem than the others. 11

My 2 cents: Commercial hot cereals tend to have iron fortification. For example, Cream of Wheat Healthy Grain Instant Maple Brown Sugar (which incidentally contains artificial sweetener, no brown sugar and only maple flavor) offers 45% of the daily recommendation of iron. Quaker ® Instant Oatmeal has 40% in one packet (it is easy to eat 2). However, whole regular oats have no iron added. (Remember that yes it has a wholesome image, but Quaker ® is owned by the same company that owns Pepsi ® —so we still have to read labels!) The abstract didn't mention if they asked what the oatmeal eaters added to their cereal. If the cereal was topped with a bunch of sugar, that may confuse results because sugar slows the immune system and feeds cancer cells. 12, 13, 14 Plus subjects would likely be getting more vitamin D in the milk on dry cereal than in the smaller amount of milk if any on hot cereal. Cream usually has no vitamin D. Bottom-line, oatmeal is okay but do avoid the processed kinds and add sweetness from fruit. Throw some walnuts on for good measure.

¦ Animal products, sauces and gravies. All meats seemed to increase risk but beef was actually lower than lamb and fish was lower yet. 15

My 2 cents: The abstract didn't make it clear if those subjects that ate meat also ate fewer vegetables. Sometimes I think it is more a matter of what you leave out that you need (e.g. the antioxidants, fiber and enzymes in the veggies) because those might offset negatives in the meat. As mentioned above under omega 3, there are many subcategories of meat and I'm pretty sure they didn't study grass fed separately.

¦ Smoking. Most of the studies start out by saying that smoking is widely considered to be the biggest risk factor for pancreatic cancer (and lung cancer and heart disease, etc.).

My 2 cents: The Mayo Clinic offers suggestions on quitting.