Would you be willing to eat just a few extra string beans to reduce your risk of cancer? Heck, yeah!
And that could be all you have to do. A recent study revealed that eating just one extra serving of veggies a day could cut your risk of head and neck cancers.
More Is Better
Although one extra serving of veggies (or fruit) a day will help protect you, more is definitely better. In fact, the more fruit and veggies people ate in a recent study, the lower their risk of head and neck cancers. And it's no surprise, really, when you think of all the cancer-squelching nutrients packed into produce -- like flavonoids, carotenoids, plant sterols, phenols, and vitamin C, to name a few.
(Read the latest news on the causes of head and neck cancers and who's most at risk.)
The Perfect Product Picks for Protection
Not all the fruits and veggies in the study had a major impact on head and neck cancer risk. The most significant protection was linked to these 9 overachievers: beans, peas, apples, peaches, strawberries, nectarines, peppers, tomatoes, and carrots. How's that for lots of options?
(Here's a list of 10 veggies that are tops when it comes to phytochemical content.)
Get more of these head and neck defenders in your diet with these creative recipe options:
And here's what else you can do to minimize your risk of cancer.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that includes 5 servings of vegetables per day can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
Fruit and vegetable intake and head and neck cancer risk in a large United States prospective cohort study. Freedman, N. D., Park, Y., Subar, A. F., Hollenbeck, A. R., Leitzmann, M. F., Schatzkin, A., Abnet, C. C.,
International Journal of Cancer 2008 May 15;122(10):2330-2336.
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