Aside from being generally delicious, the benefits of stacking your diet with nutrient-rich fruit and vegetables are boundless. According to new research, more is more when it comes to serving size for reducing your risk of breast cancer.
In a study published in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers studied 180,000 women over a 32-year period, analysing their health data.
After researchers gave the participants diet questionnaires every four years, they found that those women who ate more than 5.5 servings of fruit and veggies a day had an 11 per cent reduced risk of breast cancer compared to the women who ate 2.5 or fewer servings each day.
What’s even more notable is that the study showed the nutrient-rich ingredients were successful in lowering the risk of the more aggressive forms of breast cancer, like ER-negative, HER2-enriched, and basal-like tumours.
So how can you tailor your diet to reap the cancer-fighting benefits?
In the study, one serving is defined as, “one cup of raw leafy vegetables, half a cup of raw or cooked vegetables, or half a cup of chopped or cooked fruits.” Consume a large portion of cruciferous veggies (like broccoli, cabbage, kale, and cauliflower) as well as yellow and orange veggies (like bell peppers, corn, carrots, and sweet potatoes), as they came out on top, proving to be particularly impressive at reducing the participants’ risk.
Need some recipe inspiration?
To get a good serving or broccoli, try our Orecchiette with Broccoli.
If you’re wanting to up your cauliflower intake, try our Cauliflower Rice Arancini.
Trying to squeeze some capsicum on your plate? Try our Chargrilled Eggplant, Capsicum And Haloumi Stack With Pesto
