Two antioxidant flavonoids that you’ve probably never heard of – kaempferol and luteolin – may hold the key to fighting ovarian cancer, often called ‘the silent killer’ because it has few symptoms and is usually only diagnosed at an advanced stage.
A study of 66,940 women at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, USA, published in the International Journal of Cancer, found that diets high in kaempferol (found in broccoli and green tea) and luteolin (found in carrots, capsicums and cabbage) were associated with a 40 and 34 per cent reduction in ovarian cancer risk, respectively. Study leader Margaret Oates says, “This is good news because there are few lifestyle factors known to reduce a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer.”