There is mounting
scientific evidence that women who eat a diet rich in carotenoids have
substantially lower risk of breast cancer. The most recent studies show that the
nutrients that give fruits and vegetables their yellow, orange and red colours
can offer breast cancer protection to women at any stage of life, even those who
have already survived breast cancer.
In separate studies, scientists from Harvard and New York's Albert Einstein
College of Medicine have confirmed the value of carotenoid-rich diets even for
women with deadly invasive breast cancer.
Among the 5,450 postmenopausal women Albert Einstein researchers studied over an
8-year period, those who consumed the most carotenoid-laden vegetables cut their
risk of invasive breast cancer nearly in half.
The Harvard study went a step further by concluding that carotenoid consumption
might even protect premenopausal women who had been smokers.
A study published earlier this year concludes that a carotenoid-rich diet can
prevent breast cancer from returning.
Carotenoids are brightly colored fat-soluble pigments in fruits and vegetables
that are part of the Vitamin A molecule. As strong antioxidants, carotenoids
protect cells and tissues from disease-causing oxygen free radicals. They are
also known to strengthen immune function and cell-to-cell communication.
Beta-carotene, perhaps the best known in this family of more than 600
carotenoids, has been credited with life-extending provitamin A activity that
helps boost the immune system, among other functions.
Get your carotenoids from any bright red, yellow or orange fruits or vegetable,
including carrots, red peppers, tomatoes squash, pumpkin, peaches, apricots and
sweet potatoes. They are also found in spinach, kale and other dark green
vegetables.
Cooking the foods can, in some cases, actually increase the bioavailability of
carotenoids. Lycopene, a carotenoid that has been shown to be protective in a
number of hormonally related cancers, actually becomes more usable to the human
body after it is cooked. You`ll find lots of lycopene in tomatoes, watermelon
and papayas.
Researchers have not yet identified the specific cancer-protective property in
carotenoid-rich foods, but their role in improving cell-to-cell communication is
likely to have a role in the equation. Carotenoids are believed to have a role
in female reproduction, possibility-providing researchers with a clue to their
breast cancer protective nature.
Eating foods containing animal-based vitamin A molecules called retinols have
also been shown to protect against breast cancer. Retinols are found in
abundance in liver, butter and eggs.
Sources:
Mignone, LI, Giovannucci E, Dietary carotenoids and the risk of invasive breast
cancer. (International Journal of Cancer, 2009 Jun 15; 124(12):2929-37.
Rock CL, Natarajan L, Longitudinal biological exposure to carotenoids is
associated with breast cancer-free free survival in the Women's Healthy Eating
and Living Study. Cancer Epidemiology , Biomarkers and Prevention. 2009 Feb;
18(2):486-94.
Bonanni B, Lazzeroni M, Retinoids and breast cancer prevention. Recent results
in Cancer Research 2009;181:77-82.
Formelli F, Meneghini E, Plasma retinol and prognosis of postmenopausal breast
cancer patients. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. 2009 Jan;18(1):
42-8
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NOTE:The information on this website is for informational purposes only
and is not intended to be a replacement for medical advice from your personal
physician.
