A diet loaded with fruits and vegetables — long promoted to reduce cardiovascular risks — may help cut a woman’s odds of developing breast cancer, new research suggests.

Health experts have long believed that fruits and vegetables protect women against breast cancer, but until recently there was poor evidence to support this. But now a team of researchers, led by Maryam S. Farvid, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition, have confirmed the benefits of an anti-cancer diet for women.

For the study, the researchers tracked 90,000 nurses, beginning in early adulthood, for 20 years. The women were instructed to record their diets, and if they remembered, to report what their daily diet was like during adolescence.

After analyzing the data, the researchers found that high fruit consumption during adolescence was associated with a 25 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer in middle age.

The researchers also concluded some fruits and vegetables were more effective against cancer than others — including apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, and kale.

The results of the study, published in The British Medical Journal (BMJ), suggest young women should increase their fruit intake, especially during adolescence, in order to prevent cancer.

In an accompanying paper, University of Oxford researchers said "much more evidence is needed before we can draw conclusions on the reported protective association between adolescent fruit intake and breast cancer risk." But they added that many studies have suggested fruits and vegetables intake "have well known beneficial effects on health, and efforts should continue to increase intake of both fruit and vegetables at all ages."