Diet and Breast Health
Everyone recognizes the color pink as being associated with breast cancer but recent research shows the importance of the colors orange and green when it comes to breast health. Researchers at Boston University monitored 50,000 African-American women over the course of 12 years and found that orange coloured or cruciferous vegetables in the diet played a significant role in reducing a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer.
Eating three or more servings of carrots each week decreased a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by 17%. In addition, two servings each day of coloured vegetables lowered a women’s risk of developing (ER)-negative breast cancer by 43% compared to women who had less than 4 servings of vegetables in a week. Vegetables that promote healthy breasts include brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, mustard greens, cauliflower and kale.
Boggs D, Palmer J, Wise L, et al: Fruit and vegetable intake in relation to risk of breast cancer in the Black Women’s Health Study. American Journal of Epidemiology 2010; October 11th.
