Flavanol-Rich Diet Deters Cancer

Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and other citrus fruits are a good source of flavanols and related antioxidant compounds for which previous studies have suggested cancer risk reductive effects.  Aedín Cassidy, from the University of East Anglia (United Kingdom), and colleagues followed 171,940 women, enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study II, to ascertain associations between intakes of total flavonoids and their subclasses, on the rsk of ovarian cancer .  Dietary intake was calculated from questionnaires collected every 4 years.  During 16 to 22 years of follow-up, 723 cases of ovarian cancer were confirmed.  Data analysis revealed that while total flavonoids were not statistically significantly associated with ovarian cancer risk, subjects in the highest quintiles of flavanol and flavanone intakes were at modestly lower risk of ovarian cancer.  Specifically, dietary intakes of 75 mg/day of flavanols and flavanones were found to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by 21%, especially in women ages 30 to 55 years.  The study authors report that: “Higher intakes of flavonols and flavanones … may be associated with lower risk of ovarian cancer.”