Fruits, vegetables and dark chocolate can help prevent breast cancer

Food rich in animal fats should ideally be limited; protein can more healthfully be found in legumes and beans. Alcohol may also be harmful, because it can indirectly fuel tumor growth. However, dark chocolate -- especially chocolate with over 70 percent cocoa content -- can help increase resistance to breast cancer.

• -- With Sacramento's Race For The Cure raising awareness this week, many women in the community are asking how they can reduce the risk of getting breast cancer -- a subject that HealthWatch 3's Dr. Tom Hopkins has some "food for thought.
• Interactive: Inside Breast Cancer Who's At Risk?
• Fact Sheet Mammograms Self-Exam: How To Do It Animated Self-Exam Explanation How Do You Check?
• Right now, there's no sure way to prevent breast cancer, according to experts.
• But more scientific evidence is showing that some foods can actually act as "breast cancer fighters" in the body.
• Jeannie Maloo -- a national representative for the American Dietetic Association -- says she knows what types of foods can help in the fight against cancer.
• "One of the most important changes a woman can make to her diet to prevent breast cancer is to actually eat more fruits and vegetables," Maloo said.
• The evidence is overwhelming, according to experts.
• More than 200 studies show that fruits and vegetables can help keep breast cancer from taking hold.
• "We should all be eating about nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day," Maloo said.
• May of them are loaded with hundreds of antioxidants and phytochemicals that team up and work together to fight cancer cells.
• "Garlic and onions are high in a phytochemical called dilele disulphide that actually helps turn off cancer cells at the later stage of development," Maloo said.
• As for what not to eat, Maloo recommends limiting the amount of animal fats eaten.
• So, it's recommended that women should have no more than one drink a day, maybe limit it to just three drinks per week," Maloo said.
• Maloo also says that chocolate can help the body fight off breast cancer.