(09-02-13) New evidence indicates natural carotenoids prevent breast cancer

by Sherry Baker, Health Sciences Editor

(NaturalNews) Women are often inundated with frightening statistics about
breast cancer as if there's nothing to be done but hope they won't get it. And
they are urged to expose their breasts to the radiation in mammograms every
year in case the dreaded, sometimes killer disease is lurking in their chests.
However, as Natural News has previously reported, research is building that
specific natural substances, including vitamin D, and the avoidance of
carcinogenic substances can go far in reducing breast cancer risk.

Now there's new research showing that carotenoids, phytonutrients found in
yellow, orange and red fruits and vegetables, significantly reduce the risk of
breast cancer. The study, just published in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute, reveals an important, inverse relationship between circulating
levels of individual and total carotenoids and the risk of breast malignancies.
Simply put, the more carotenoid-rich foods you eat, the lower your breast
cancer risk could be.

Scientist A. Heather Eliassen of the Department of Medicine at Brigham &
Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and her research team analyzed
eight cohort studies. These are especially crucial studies because they bring
together over 80 percent of the world's published prospective data on plasma or
serum levels of carotenoids and breast cancer.

The new analysis included 3,055 research subjects and 3,956 matched control
subjects. The carotenoid levels of all the people in the study were
recalibrated to a common standard to get accurate measurements for the
researchers to compare. The results showed a strong relationship between those
in the study who didn't have breast cancer and higher levels of carotenoids in
the body. The findings were strongest for estrogen receptor negative (ER-)
breast cancer, which is a type of breast malignancy that is often difficult to
treat.

"The inverse associations we observed among ER- tumors highlight carotenoids
as one of the first modifiable risk factors for this poor prognosis tumor
type," the authors of the study wrote. "A diet high in carotenoid-rich fruits
and vegetables offers many health benefits, including a possible reduced risk
of breast cancer."

This isn't the first time carotenoids have been found to have anti-cancer
properties. Previous studies have found carotenoids inhibit the progression of
tumors and reduce the spread of both estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) and
estrogen receptor negative (ER-) breast cancers. The new research raises the
strong possibility that a diet rich in carotenoids, or supplements containing
these nutrients, might keep breast cancer from developing in the first place.
The most common carotenoids include alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-
cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene.

Sources:

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/carotenoids/
http://www.naturalnews.com/023264_Vitamin_D_cancer_brst.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/023136_apple_cancer_apples.html

News

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