Ovarian cancer strikes 6,500 women in the United Kingdom and 20,000 women in the United States each year. It is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women, accounting for more deaths than any other female reproductive cancer. New research suggests that some very simple dietary adjustments may significantly lower your risk for ovarian cancer.
Get Your Flavonoid Fix
Researchers from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom analyzed the diets and disease risk of 171,940 women over the course of more than three decades. Lead author Professor Aedin Cassidy of the University’s Department of Nutrition said, “This is the first large-scale study looking into whether habitual intake of different flavonoids can reduce the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.”
Two types of flavonoids stood out as particularly effective at reducing ovarian cancer risk: flavonols (such as those found in tea, red wine, apples, and grapes) and flavanones (such as those found in citrus fruits and juices). Women who consumed flavonoid-rich foods were less likely to develop ovarian cancer.
Professor Cassidy explains: “We found that women who consume foods high in two sub-groups of powerful substances called flavonoids — flavonols and flavanones — had a significantly lower risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer.”
In fact, women who drank a few cups of black tea daily had a 31% reduced risk for ovarian cancer!
The study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, gives us a green light go to drink more tea and consume more citrus fruits.
