Breast Cancer - Diet

Diet and Breast Cancer
A Journal of the American Medical Association report analyzed eight previously published studies, hoping to find clues to whether fruits and vegetables (and which ones in particular) cut breast cancer risk. Researchers examined food intake questionnaires of more than 350,000 women, noting consumption of various fruits, fruit juices, vegetables, and vegetable juices.

They found that women who consumed the highest amounts of fruits and vegetables were only 3 percent to 9 percent less likely to develop breast cancer—discouragingly low figures. However, a more thorough review of the study brings two important aspects to light: Researchers zeroed in on fruit and vegetable consumption, but not on the entire diet. Simply adding healthy foods to an otherwise poor diet, rather than getting rid of the troublemakers—meat, dairy products, and fried foods—may not offer the protection many had hoped. Secondly, foods that were eaten in childhood and young adulthood were not considered.¹

According to new findings from the Shanghai Women's Health Study, soy foods provide protection against premenopausal breast cancer when they are consumed during adolescence and perhaps even as an adult. Researchers assessed the diets of more 73,000 Chinese women during adulthood and adolescence. Those with the highest intake of soy protein or isoflavone had about half the risk of premenopausal breast cancer compared with those with the lowest soy intake, regardless of age at time of consumption. The study found no significant association between soy foods and the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.²

While scientists are hard at work searching for specific breast cancer-fighting compounds, the safest approach is to apply what we already know: Diets that are highest in a variety of plant foods and stay away from heavy oils, meat, and dairy products, help prevent a great many diseases. The earlier in life we start, the better.

Cancer experts add that several other lifestyle factors are undoubtedly linked to breast cancer. Women who drink more than one alcoholic beverage each day have about a 20 percent higher risk; a similar degree of risk applies to obese women. In both young and older women, exercising two to three hours per week can reduce risk by 30 percent, four or more hours by 50 percent.

Unfortunately, a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently found that just one in four U.S. adults is getting enough exercise for optimal health.

1. Smith-Warner SA, Spiegelman D, Yaun SS, et al. Intake of fruits and vegetables and risk of breast cancer: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. JAMA 2001;285:769-76.

2. Sang-Ah Lee, Xiao-Ou Shu, Honglan Li, et al. Adolescent and adult soy food intake and breast cancer risk: results from the Shanghai Women's Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89:1920-1926.

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