HSPH Researchers Find No Link Between Fruits, Vegetables and Cancer

A woman's risk of breast cancer is not reduced by eating fruits and vegetables, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found.

The report, published in yesterday's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, cast doubt on previous findings that had claimed a correlation between a woman's fruit and vegetable intake duirng adulthood and her chances of developing breast cancer.

"Previous studies have been inconsistant, some finding correlations over 25 percent and others finding none," said Dr. Stephanie Smith-Warner, a researcher in nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health who led the research team.

Smith-Warner and her colleagues collected the data from eight different international studies involving over 350,000 adult women, making it the largest investigation on the question to date.

The team analyzed the participants' consumption of green leafy vegetables, eight botanical groups, and 17 specific fruits and vegetables. Women who eat the most, 4.5 to 10 servings a day, were then compared with those who eat the least, one to three servings a day.

One serving equals about one medium-sized fruit or a half-cup of cooked vegetables.

The researchers found those who consume more have a seven percent lower risk of developing breast cancer, a result not considered statistically significant.

Breast cancer, the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women, develops in one out of every eight women, according to the Arizona Cancer Center.

While eating fruits and vegetables as an adult may not lower one's chances of developing breast cancer, there are other measures that can help, Smith-Warner said.

"Reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption, increasing physical activity, and controlling body weight can help prevent breast cancer," she said.

Eating fruits and vegetables may, however, reduce the risks of other cancers, and could even work against breast cancer when consumed during childhood. This effect is attributed to antioxidants, which neutralize cancer-causing chemicals.