Eating fruits, veggies cuts cancer risk - The Clarion-Ledger

"When scientists study human populations and their eating habits, they can draw some conclusions about different dietary habits and the link with certain diseases.
For example, populations that eat more fruits and vegetables with less fat suffer from fewer heart attacks and strokes. Sometimes it is tough to prove exactly how these foods work to prevent disease although we know they can.
At the 2007 annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research, researchers presented promising evidence that diet and lifestyle can help prevent cancer.
One of the studies presented dealt with prevention of cancers of the head and neck. Head and neck cancer is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, resulting in more than 350,000 deaths each year. This study was conducted by the National Cancer Institute with a half-million AARP members, men and women over the age of 50. Those who ate six servings of fruits and vegetables for each 1,000 calories consumed had 29 percent lower risk than the study participants who ate only 1 1/2 servings per 1,000 calories. Those members who ate just one additional serving of fruit and vegetables per day had a 6 percent reduction in cancer risk. The more servings they ate, the greater the reduction in risk."