vegetables and fruits sources healthful compounds

Cancer-Fighting Compounds and Immune-Boosting Foods

As you plan your menu, be generous with a variety of vegetables and fruits, because they are the main sources of these healthful compounds.

As you push your grocery cart down the aisle, you’ll want to keep a lookout for foods that have special cancer-fighting properties. In this chapter, we’ll focus on foods rich in protective compounds called antioxidants and phytochemicals, as well as foods that can help boost your immune system.

As you plan your menu, you’ll want to be generous with a variety of vegetables and fruits, because they are the main sources of these healthful compounds. Studies have amply demonstrated the ability of diets rich in vegetables and fruits to reduce the likelihood that cancer will develop in the first place. Although fewer studies have investigated their effect on survival after diagnosis, some have suggested that cancer survivors who consume more vegetables and fruits do indeed live longer. As you’ll see, researchers have begun to tease out reasons why produce is so powerful.