Pancreatic Cancer Risk May Be Reduced by Eating This Food – Eating Well

Pancreatic Cancer Risk May Be Reduced by Eating This Food, According to Dietitians

Dietitians agree: Cruciferous vegetables are a standout choice for pancreatic cancer risk reduction.

By Deborah Murphy, M.S., RDN, Published on November 8, 2026
Reviewed by Dietitian Casey Wing, RD, CD

• * Cruciferous vegetables contain sulforaphane, which may help reduce pancreatic cancer risk.
  * Eating more than 3/4 cup of raw cruciferous veggies weekly is linked to lower odds of pancreatic cancer.
  * Cruciferous vegetables also provide fiber and vitamin C that may reduce inflammation and cancer risk.

The pancreas is a pear-shaped organ located behind your stomach that makes both enzymes for digestion and hormones like insulin.1 This vital organ is also one that is susceptible to cancer. Each year, over 60,000 people are newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.2 While there is no sure way to guarantee that you won’t get pancreatic cancer in your lifetime, there are steps you can take to lower your risk, like following a healthy eating pattern.

Vegetables are foundational to a healthy eating pattern and cancer risk reduction, but there is one group of veggies that stands out from the rest. “When it comes to cancer protection, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale and cabbage are heavy hitters,” says Pam Hartnett, M.P.H., RDN. Read on to find out why dietitians recommend cruciferous vegetables for lowering your risk of pancreatic cancer.

Why Cruciferous Vegetables Are Great for Lowering Pancreatic Cancer Risk: They Contain Protective Sulforaphanes

Growing up, you might not have appreciated your mom’s advice to eat your broccoli, but these tree-shaped veggies really are good for you. Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables are packed with plant-based compounds that have been associated with lower cancer risk, including one that isn’t as available in other vegetables.

“Sulforaphane, one of the most-studied compounds in cruciferous vegetables, has been shown to slow the growth of pancreatic cancer cells and even cause some of them to die in laboratory studies,” says Hartnett. This same sulfur-containing compound is also what gives cruciferous vegetables their unique flavor and bitterness.

So how much of these veggies do you need to eat to see benefits? “One study found that people who ate more than three-quarters of a cup of raw cruciferous vegetables a week had [significantly] lower odds of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer than those who ate less than a quarter-cup,” says Hartnett.4 That said, you don’t have to eat them raw to score their anticancer benefits, but not all cooking methods are created equal. Mild heating methods, like microwaving or briefly steaming, have been found to better ways to preserve more of that beneficial sulforaphane than prolonged cooking.

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