Onions and garlic are key ingredients in sofrito, a condiment that’s a staple of Puerto Rican cuisine. They may also be a recipe for reducing the risk of breast cancer.
That’s according to the findings of a study led by University at Buffalo and University of Puerto Rico researchers. It’s the first population-based study to examine the association between onion and garlic consumption and breast cancer in Puerto Rico. The results were published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer.
“We found that among Puerto Rican women, the combined intake of onion and garlic, as well as sofrito, was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer,” said Gauri Desai, the study’s lead author, who is an epidemiology PhD student in UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions.
In fact, those who consumed sofrito more than once per day had a 67% decrease in risk compared to women who never ate it. The idea for the study stemmed from previous scientific evidence showing that eating onions and garlic may have a protective effect against cancer.
Read more at University at Buffalo
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