Flavonoid-rich Diet Helps Decrease Ovarian Cancer Risk
November 21, 2007 by Gloria Gamat
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Frequent consumption of foods containing the flavonoid kaempferol, including nonherbal tea and broccoli and consumption of large amounts of the flavonoid luteolin, which is found in foods such as carrots, peppers, and cabbage – have been found associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer.
Such were the findings of a new research from the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH).
According to first author Margaret Gates, a research fellow at BWH and at the Harvard School of Public Health:
“This is good news because there are few lifestyle factors known to reduce a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer. Although additional research is needed, these findings suggest that consuming a diet rich in flavonoids may be protective.
In this population of women, consumption of nonherbal tea and broccoli provided the best defense against ovarian cancer.
Other flavonoid-rich foods, such as onions, beans, and kale, may also decrease ovarian cancer risk, but the number of women who frequently consumed these foods was not large enough to clearly evaluate these associations. More research is needed.”
Findings appear in the Nov. 15, 2007, issue of the International Journal of Cancer.
