Findings show certain substances in different foods—including catechins found in green tea, genistein found in soybeans, resveratrol found in mulberries and grape skins, and plant pigments such as lycopene and flavonoids—may be able to control blood vessel growth that leads to the development of tumors.

“What we eat, and how much, clearly impacts cancer,” says William Li, MD, an expert on maintaining health and fighting disease through diet, lifestyle and treatments that control the formation of blood vessels, or angiogenesis, in the body.
The substances in the foods previously mentioned stop or slow the growth of tumors by preventing the formation of new blood vessels that can feed cancers. These substances are called angiogenesis inhibitors, and they fight cancer.

According to recommendations from the American Cancer Society, World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research, breast cancer survivors should eat a healthy diet of more plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, nuts, seeds and whole grains. What’s more, experts suggest that cancer survivors eat at least five servings each day of fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors, and that they limit their intake of red meat (fewer than 18 ounces per week) and processed meats.