Study: Fruits and Vegetables May Cut Risk of Breast Cancer

Women may reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, according to researchers from New York University and the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France.

Researchers compared the blood levels of carotenoids, chemicals derived from fruits and vegetables, in 270 women with breast cancer up to 11 years after the blood samples were taken with the blood levels of 270 similar women who remained cancer free.

The women who developed breast cancer, on average, had 11 to 21 percent lower levels of a variety of carotenoids before they were diagnosed with breast cancer than the women who were cancer free, according to the study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The women with the lowest levels of carotenoids were more than twice as likely to develop breast cancer than the women with higher levels, the report said.

Beta-carotine, found in carrots and dark green leafy vegetables and alpha-carotene, found in carrots and tomato-based vegetable juices, seemed to have the greatest influence on the effectiveness of the carotenoids.

The study was not able to determine if a woman's diet was solely responsible for the reduction in the risk of breast cancer.

Other sources: American Journal of Epidemiology