Cancer prevention is no longer seen as something that begins only in hospitals or laboratories. A large body of research now suggests that everyday lifestyle choices—especially diet, physical activity, and maintaining a healthy weight—can prevent a substantial proportion of common cancers. Global estimates from the World Cancer Research Fund indicate that around 30–40% of cancers could be prevented through these measures alone. One of the lesser-known but fascinating ways plant-based foods may help is by interfering with a process cancers need to grow: the formation of new blood vessels.
A tumour cannot grow beyond a very small size unless it develops its own blood supply. Without access to oxygen and nutrients, cancer cells remain trapped in a microscopic, harmless state. Scientists estimate that a tumour cannot grow much larger than the tip of a ballpoint pen without new blood vessels feeding it. This explains an important and often surprising fact: most adults already carry tiny clusters of cancer cells in their bodies. Autopsy studies have shown that by the age of 60 or 70, microscopic cancers can be found in organs such as the thyroid or prostate in many people, yet these never cause illness. This phenomenon has led researchers to describe cancer, in many cases, as “cancer without disease.”
The reason these tiny cancers usually stay harmless is simple—they are unable to recruit blood vessels. To grow larger, tumours must switch on a process called angiogenesis, which literally means “creating new blood vessels.” Cancer cells do this by releasing chemical signals that call nearby blood vessels to grow toward them. One of the most important of these signals is known as vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF.
Modern cancer drugs often try to block VEGF, effectively starving tumours. Interestingly, research over the past two decades suggests that many natural compounds found in plant foods may influence the same pathway, though far more gently and safely. This has led scientists to explore whether diet could act as a long-term, low-risk way of suppressing abnormal blood vessel growth.
Laboratory and animal studies consistently show that phytonutrients found in vegetables, fruits, legumes, spices, tea, and whole grains can reduce signals that promote angiogenesis. Compounds such as flavonoids and polyphenols—abundant in foods like broccoli, berries, citrus fruits, onions, beans, turmeric, green tea, and even traditional varieties of rice—have been shown to slow the formation of new blood vessels that tumours need to expand.
Much of the early work was done in controlled laboratory settings. Researchers observed that when human blood vessel cells are exposed to VEGF, they begin forming tube-like structures that eventually develop into capillaries. When plant compounds such as apigenin (found in celery and citrus), luteolin (found in peppers and leafy greens), or fisetin (found in strawberries and apples) are added, this process slows down or even stops. The cells simply fail to organise into new vessels.
Some of this research has particular relevance for India. Studies on purple and red rice varieties, which are traditionally grown and consumed in parts of the country, show that their natural pigments can reduce VEGF-driven blood vessel growth. This adds scientific weight to the long-held belief that traditional diets rich in whole plant foods offer protective health benefits beyond basic nutrition.
Human studies are more complex, but population-level evidence is steadily accumulating. Diets rich in plant foods are consistently associated with lower rates of cancer progression and metastasis, especially for breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers. A major review in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research concluded that dietary plant compounds have a “unique ability” to influence tumour angiogenesis in ways that may help prevent cancer development and spread.
Importantly, these foods are not drugs. Their effects are slower, broader, and safer, making them suitable for long-term prevention rather than short-term treatment. This is why researchers often describe dietary anti-angiogenesis as a background defence system—one that quietly keeps abnormal cell growth in check over decades.
For India, where cancer rates are rising alongside urbanisation, obesity, and dietary westernisation, this insight is especially relevant. Traditional Indian diets—rich in vegetables, lentils, whole grains, spices, fruits, and teas—naturally contain many anti-angiogenic compounds. Moving away from these patterns toward ultra-processed foods may remove an important layer of protection.
None of this suggests that diet alone can cure cancer. Medical treatment, early detection, and evidence-based therapies remain essential. However, the emerging science strongly suggests that a largely whole-food, plant-based diet may help create an internal environment where cancers struggle to grow and spread.
In simple terms, plants may help do something remarkable: they may help keep potential cancers small, silent, and starved of the blood supply they need to become dangerous.
References
World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research. Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Cancer: A Global Perspective.
Li WW et al. Tumor angiogenesis as a target for dietary cancer prevention. Journal of Oncology, 2012.
Reuben SC et al. Modulation of angiogenesis by dietary phytoconstituents. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2012.
Lamy S et al. Diet-derived polyphenols inhibit angiogenesis. Experimental Cell Research, 2012.
Tanaka J et al. Purple rice extract inhibits VEGF-induced angiogenesis. Phytotherapy Research, 2012.
Weng CJ, Yen GC. Flavonoids and anti-metastatic activity. Cancer and Metastasis Reviews, 2012.
Bhat TA et al. Fisetin and angioprevention. Carcinogenesis, 2012.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). National Cancer Registry Programme Reports.