Foods That Could Lower Your Risk of Cancer

What you eat can drastically affect many aspects of your health, including your risk of developing chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

The development of cancer, in particular, has been shown to be heavily influenced by your diet.

Many foods contain beneficial compounds that could help decrease the growth of cancer.

There are also several studies showing that a higher intake of certain foods could be associated with a lower risk of the disease.

This article will delve into the research and look at foods that may lower your risk of cancer.

BROCCOLI:

Broccoli contains sulforaphane, a plant compound found in cruciferous vegetables that may have potent anticancer properties.

One test-tube study showed that sulforaphane reduced the size and number of breast cancer cells by up to 75% (1Trusted Source).

Similarly, an animal study found that treating mice with sulforaphane helped kill off prostate cancer cells and reduced tumor volume by more than 50% (2Trusted Source).

Some studies have also found that a higher intake of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli may be linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer.

One analysis of 35 studies showed that eating more cruciferous vegetables was associated with a lower risk of colorectal and colon cancer (3Trusted Source).

Including broccoli with a few meals per week may come with some cancer-fighting benefits.

However, keep in mind that the available research hasn’t looked directly at how broccoli may affect cancer in humans.

Instead, it has been limited to test-tube, animal and observational studies that either investigated the effects of cruciferous vegetables, or the effects of a specific compound in broccoli. Thus, more studies are needed.

SUMMARY: Broccoli contains sulforaphane, a compound that has been shown to cause tumor cell death and reduce tumor size in test-tube and animal studies. A higher intake of cruciferous vegetables may also be associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer.