Right Foods May Help Prevent Breast Cancer

Fruit, Fish Can Defend Body Against Cancer

BOSTON -- They say you are what you eat, but can what you eat really prevent a disease like breast cancer? A new book by a Harvard doctor is suggesting that the idea may be more than just food for thought.

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Dr. Hope Ricciotti, co-author of the newly published Breast Cancer Prevention Cookbook, said that there are steps women can take to minimize the risk of getting breast cancer.

"The populations that have the lowest risk of breast cancer are those that are consuming soy foods and lots of fruits and vegetables in their diet," Ricciotti said.

Ricciotti said that five to seven servings a day of fruits and vegetables will provide women with antioxidants, believed to prevent cells from turning cancerous. One fruit is especially potent.

"The highest fruit that contains antioxidants is blueberries," Ricciotti said.

Also recommended are fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna, because they're loaded with omega-3 fatty acids.

"We know that they're associated with a decreased risk of many cancers, including breast cancer," Ricciotti said.

Soy-based products such as tofu, soy milk and soybeans are high in phytoestrogens.

"Estrogen can induce the formation of tumors, and the way you can fool your body into thinking that there's less estrogen around is to consume phytoestrogens in the diet," Ricciotti said.

Ricciotti also warned against using supplements as the only source of cancer-fighting nutrients. She said the anti-cancer benefits appear to be processed away in vitamin development.

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