Carotenoids in fruits and vegetables: Do these reduce the risk of breast cancer?

Tuesday, February 05, 2013 by: Sandeep Godiyal
Tags: carotenoids, breast cancer, fruits and vegetables

(NaturalNews) Breast cancer is one of the most dreaded health conditions. It is a type of cancer which begins in the tissues found in the breast. It basically comes in two types. The first one is ductal carcinoma which first affects the ducts or the specific tubes that work in transmitting milk starting from the breast down to the nipple. The second one is the lobular carcinoma which first damages the lobules or the specific parts of the breast that are responsible for milk production. This is mainly triggered by age, gender, menstrual cycle, genes, excessive alcohol consumption, childbirth and radiation. People should not necessarily dread this condition; however, since there are now ways to reduce their risk of suffering from it. One way is to regularly consume fruits and vegetables with high carotenoid and phytonutrient contents since these are effective in beating breast cancer.

Carotenoids in fruits and vegetables help prevent breast cancer

Carotenoids actually refer to the red, orange and yellow pigments that are usually found in plants. But it is important to note that the specific kinds of carotenoids studied by researchers that work in preventing breast cancer are those that are normally found in the diet plans of North Americans including beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin.

According to reliable studies made by researchers, women whose bloodstreams have high carotenoid levels have the least amount of risk of suffering from breast cancer. This can be attributed to the anti-cancer effects present in carotenoids. Beta cryptoxanthin, beta carotene and alpha carotene are being metabolized until they become retinol which refers to a type of vitamin A that naturally occurs in the blood. This transformation is said to work in regulating the development, death and growth of cells. The anticarcinogenic nature of carotenoids is also due to other mechanisms such as enhanced gap junction communication, improved functioning of immune system and the hunting of reactive oxygen species by antioxidants.

Phytonutrients to prevent breast cancer

Phytonutrients refer to natural compounds that provide foods that are mainly based on plant with rich pigments and distinctive smells and tastes. These compounds also serve as the immune system of plants. These are effective in stimulating the enzymes that help in eliminating toxins out of the human body. This results in the prevention of breast cancer and other dreaded health conditions including those that affect the digestive and cardiovascular systems. People can actually take different kinds of phytonutrients such as carotenoids from fruits and vegetables including broccoli, squash, apple, cranberries, kale, sweet potato, spinach, guava, grapefruit, watermelon and carrots.

Sources of this article include

1. Breast cancer
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001911/

2. Carotenoids in rruits and vegetables may lower breast cancer risk, review finds
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/carotenoids-breast-cancer- risk-fruits-vegetables-micronutrients_n_2252815.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/carotenoids-breast-cancer-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/carotenoids-breast-cancer- risk-fruits-vegetables-micronutrients_n_2252815.html"> risk-fruits-vegetables-micronutrients_n_2252815.html

3. Phytonutrients for fall
http://www.intelihealth.com

About the author:
Sandeep has written many health field articles for both Internet and print publication. He currently writing for insurancetips4u.co.

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