Tomatoes
Tomatoes may help reduce women’s risk of developing breast cancer! According to Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2012, the antioxidant carotenoid, lycopene, was particularly effective at helping women with the harder-to-treat version of breast cancer: estrogen receptor (ER)–negative tumors. Breast cancer risk was 19 percent lower in women with the highest levels of total carotenoids compared with women having the lowest levels and women with the highest levels of lycopene had a 22 percent decreased breast cancer risk.
Folate and folic acid
A diet rich on folate and folic acid, which are forms of a B vitamin, may be beneficial when it comes to breast cancer, some studies have shown.
A study on postmenopausal women found that those who took a lot of folate supplements were 22 percent less likely to have breast cancer, compared with those with very low folate intake.
Folate may be protective, particularly against estrogen-receptor-negative types of breast cancer, the researchers concluded in their article, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in December 2008.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes, specifically, are rich in a specific carotenoid known as beta-carotene. According to Journal of the National Cancer Institute, women with the highest levels of beta-carotene in their blood that a 17 percent lower risk of developing certain types of breast cancer. The theory is that carotenoids contain compounds that help regulate cell growth, defense, and repair.
Green Tea
Green tea may help breast cancer patients fare better in the disease progression, studies have suggested.
It is proposed that green tea helps patients by limiting the growth of the tumor. Chemicals in green tea called polyphenols appear to inhibit proteins that promote tumor cell growth and migration, according to experimental studies in animals.
Olive Oil
When Spanish researchers had women supplement their Mediterranean diets with extra-virgin olive oil, the researchers found that these women had a 68 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer compared to women whose dietary fats came from corn oil. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, speculated that the olive oil’s anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds and oleic acid may have quelled the growth of malignant cells.