Study found that females eat more beans to prevent breast cancer when young

According to US researchers, women who regularly eat legumes during childhood have a lower risk of breast cancer. Another group of researchers proposed to the American Association for Cancer Research that men who eat fish several times a week are less likely to have colon cancer.

These two studies further proved the effect of diet on cancer prevention. Cancer experts believe that as many as two-thirds of all cancers are caused by unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking, dieting, and lack of exercise.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute and the University of Hawaii found that women who regularly eat legumes such as tofu and soybean paste at the age of 5 to 11 years are 58% less likely to develop breast cancer. As for why legume foods can prevent cancer, it is not yet clear, but the compounds called isoflavones contained in soybeans act as estrogens.

Another study showed that men who ate fish at least five times a week had a 40% lower risk of developing colon cancer than men who ate fish less than once a week.

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are abundant in many fish, inhibit the activity of cyclooxygenase-2. Cyclooxygenase 2 causes inflammation, which may stimulate tumor growth.