Key Points
Dietary habits are instrumental in about 40% of cancers in men and 60% in women.
Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with decreased risk of several cancers.
Fruits and vegetables contain many non-nutritive as well as nutritive compounds including carotenoids, dithiolthiones, flavonoids, glucosinolates, indoles, isothiocyanates, monoterpenes, phenols, sterols, sulfhydryls, and vitamins including folate, C, and E.
Anticarcinogenic actions from dietary components in fruits and vegetables include the induction of detoxification enzymes, blockage of carcinogen formation (such as nitrosamines), shifts in hormone homeostasis, slowing of cell division, induction of apoptosis, depression in angiogenesis, and several others.
There are critical interrelationships between diet, environment, and genetics that affect cancer risk.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, teas, spices, and herbs consumed in the diet have been associated with reducing cancer risk in cell culture and animal models; epidemiological studies show similar associations, but there are very few intervention studies to date.