Link Found Between Ovarian Cancer and Diet

Wednesday 3rd March 2010

From an early age the majority of us are warned to eat our five fruit and vegetables a day, to “help keep the doctor away”; but in women’s cases it is perhaps time to really take note of this advice. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reveals that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables may be the difference between surviving and mortality from ovarian cancer.


The research was conducted at the University of Illinois in Chicago and involved an in-depth investigation into the diet of women who suffered from ovarian cancer from three to five years before they had their cancer diagnosed. It was conducted with the use of a questionnaire in which the women ticked what foods they had been consuming in large amounts over the past three to five years. Food groups included red meats, fruit and so on which were then divided into more sub-groups. The general consensus was that the more fruit and vegetables that were consumed the longer the survival rate in the women. Particular foods that showed a negative affect on the survival rate were less healthy foods such as red meat and cured meat alongside milk and foods based on milk. A vast improvement was seen from vegetables alone in the cruciferous family, e.g. broccoli, showing an even better survival rate. There did appear to be no correlation with the consumption of fish and chicken.

Whilst the study doesn’t provide concrete evidence or a long-term analysis as such it does show how the diet could be playing a key role in cancer mortality. With the help of more research and further in-depth scientific investigations it could come to benefit many more people.


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