High-vegetable diet reduces cancer risk

Eating at least five portions a day of certain fruit and vegetables could cut the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 50%, US researchers believe.

Onions, garlic, beans, carrots, corn, dark leafy vegetables and citrus fruits were among the most protective foods, according to a University of California team comparing the diets of 2,200 people.

The report, published in the Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention journal, said eating five portions daily of the most protective vegetables cuts the risk in half or eating any nine fruit or vegetables could have the same effect.

Raw vegetables were found to be more protective than cooked ones, the study said after conducting interviews with 532 people with the cancer, and 1,700 people who did not have the disease.

.