Lower Ovarian Cancer Risk with Tea and Citrus Fruits

Did You Know…that tea and citrus fruits and juices are associated with a lower risk of developing ovarian cancer?

New research reveals that women who consume foods containing flavonols and flavanones (two forms of dietary flavonoids) cut their risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer.  This is amazingly good news for women, because ovarian cancer is currently the 5th leading cause of cancer death among women.  About 20,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year.

An Extremely Deadly Cancer 

Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest of all cancers affecting women.  One of the reasons this type of cancer is so terribly dangerous is that it is nearly impossible to detect early.  Only about 19% of ovarian cancer is diagnosed before the cancer has spread, after which point treatment is usually not effective.

Making matters worse is the fact that the ovaries are tiny organs located deep within the abdominal cavity.  This makes it extremely difficult to pinpoint symptoms specific to the ovaries.  Sadly, such symptoms are all too often mistaken for other far less serious health issues until it is simply too late.

The good news is that there are choices you or your loved ones can make to lower ovarian cancer risk.  Most recently, scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) discovered that tea and citrus fruits and juices can lower ovarian cancer risk.

How Tea and Citrus Prevent Ovarian Cancer 

The UEA study followed the dietary habits of 171,940 women between the ages of 25 and 55 for more than three decades.  The research team found that those who consumed food and drinks high in flavonols were less likely to develop ovarian cancer.

     Flavonols are found in…

  • Tea
  • Red wine
  • Apples
  • Grapes


Consumption of flavanones was also associated with lower incidence of ovarian cancer.

Flavanones are found in …

  • Citrus fruits
  • Citrus juices
Two Cups A Day

The consumption of just two cups of black tea every day was associated with a whopping 31% reduction in ovarian cancer risk.  Black tea also slashes your risk of diabetes.  A study of elderly people living in the Mediterranean islands showed that people who consumed 1-2 cups of black tea a day had a 70% lower chance of having or developing Type 2 diabetes.


A Groundbreaking Study 

The UEA study was the first large-scale study to examine how the substances in black tea and citrus fruits and juices affect the risk of ovarian cancer.  The study’s authors concluded that very simple and inexpensive changes in food intake could have a drastic effect on reducing ovarian cancer risk.