Making 7 small changes to your diet by adding cancer fighting foods can have a big impact on your health.

Discover more about the benefits of vitamin A, the health benefits of carrots and more – and then reap the rewards of an overall balanced healthy diet that contains foods that fight against cancer. Here’s how.

1. Maintain a balanced healthy diet with greens.

According to the American Cancer Society, Asian women have a breast cancer rate one-fifth that of U.S. women. While soy often gets the credit, cancer fighting foods like cruciferous vegetables are also proving to be preventative. One study showed that Chinese women with the highest levels of isothiocyanate - a compound found in broccoli, kale, brussels sprout, and other cruciferous vegetables - cut their rate of breast cancer by 50 percent.

2. Enjoy the benefits of vitamin D.

Low vitamin D levels have recently been linked to an increased risk of everything from heart disease to depression. Now researchers have made a connection between the nutrient and breast cancer: A study in the Annals of Epidemiology found that pre-menopausal women with higher intakes of vitamin D had a roughly 30 percent lower breast cancer risk. Fish is your best dietary source for enjoying the benefits of vitamin D - try salmon, trout, and sardines.

3. Discover the benefits of vitamin A.

There are numerous health benefits of carrots; not only do they help protect against eye disease, but they also may slow the growth of cancer cells. Women who ate at least five servings a day of foods rich in vitamin A and carotenoids, such as carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and apricots, reduced their risk of breast cancer by more than 20 percent. The effect was seen especially in pre-menopausal women with a family history of breast cancer.

To reap the health benefits of green tea and additional cancer fighting foods, continue reading.

Be sure to add even more delicious cancer fighting foods into your balanced healthy diet.

Follow these important tips:

4. Add herbs to your balanced healthy diet.

Compared with certain fruits and veggies, some herbs have more than 10 times the amount of cancer- and heart-disease-fighting antioxidants. So reach for that rosemary, oregano or thyme next time you cook.

5. Explore the health benefits of green tea.

Instead of grabbing a latte as an afternoon pick-me-up, go green-tea, that is. A recent study from Japan found that women with cancer who drank at least three cups of green tea a day reduced their risk of recurrence by more than 30 percent. Some scientists believe that the health benefits of green tea exist because the beverage is high in the antioxidant epigallocatechin-3-gallate, which may halt cancer cell growth.

6. Load up on cancer fighting foods containing lignans.

Some breast tumors are triggered by the hormone estrogen. But as it turns out lignans, or plant estrogens, may block the effect of estrogen produced by the body. (Lignans can also help lower your bad cholesterol, or LDL.) Flax and sesame seeds have the highest amounts, but whole grains and whole-grain bread, cereal, and pasta, pumpkin seeds, soybeans, broccoli, and tea are also good sources.

7. Marinate, marinate, marinate for a balanced healthy diet that is full of cancer fighting strategies.

Using high-temperature techniques, like grilling, to cook meat can create potentially cancer-causing compounds to develop. But you don't have to give up barbecues altogether. Sticking with lean red meat, chicken, and fish and marinating them for just a few minutes before grilling helps avoid charring, adds flavor, and keeps these foods moist.