Breast Cancer: Nutritional Considerations

• A plant–based diet: Researchers have long noted a low incidence of breast cancer in countries where traditional diets are based on plant foods. In contrast, a striking increase in breast cancer incidence has been noted in migrants who abandon traditional diets (e.g., rice, vegetables, and soy foods) and adopt Western–type diets high in meat, dairy products, and fat.
  
  Part of this risk may be related to eating fiber–depleted, fatty foods that increase blood levels of estrogen or to an increase in estrogen production from fat cells. High–fiber foods help to remove excess estrogens from the body in the same way that these foods remove cholesterol.  Here are some tips for starting a plant-based diet >>
  
• Maintenance of a healthy body weight: Large studies, including the Women’s Health Initiative, indicate that breast cancer risk increases significantly with overweight and obesity. Lower body weight also appears to improve the prognosis in patients with breast cancer. Overweight patients with breast cancer were shown to have a shortened life expectancy and greater risk of cancer recurrence after treatment.
  
  The same low–fat, plant based diet that reduces fat intake and increases fiber will also help reduce body weight.
• Reduced intake of saturated fat and meat: The high intake of saturated fat and meat may be a part of the reason that breast cancer is much more common in areas where Western diets prevail.
  
  In the Nurses’ Health II Study, premenopausal women who ate the most fat had a slightly increased risk for breast cancer. This risk was attributed mainly to the intake of red meat and high–fat dairy products.
  
  Lower fat diets may also improve survival in patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer. A Japanese study showed increased death rates when high–fat foods (particularly butter and margarine, cheese, ham, sausage, and dairy products) are consumed. Other studies have suggested that patients who eat the least fat when they are diagnosed have a better prognosis. Further, results from a large randomized clinical trial, the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study, showed that postmenopausal women who ate a low–fat diet were less likely to develop a recurrence of breast cancer, compared with those who ate a standard diet.

• Increased fiber intake: A large study of postmenopausal women found that women who ate the most fiber had the lowest risk. And the risk was even lower among women who ate the least fat. High–fiber, low–fat diets also reduce serum estrogen, which is known to be associated with breast cancer risk.
  
  With the addition of exercise, this type of diet is known to help keep blood glucose levels within normal limits and to lower the risk for adult–onset diabetes, both of which have been related to increased breast cancer risk.
  
  Fruits, vegetables, beans, and legumes (including soy products) are particularly good sources of fiber. Studies show that women who eat more fruits and vegetables may have greater long–term survival from breast cancer, possibly because of the combinations of carotenoids, folate, and phytochemicals present in these foods.
  
  When the intake of these foods begins before or during adolescence, the healthy effects are especially prominent.
• Reduced or eliminated alcohol intake: Alcohol intake is associated with an increase in the incidence of breast cancer. People who had two (approximately 30g of alcohol) or more drinks per day had a 40 percent increased risk compared with nondrinkers. Even one drink daily increases one’s risk by up to 10 percent.
• Increased intake of folic acid: Eating foods high in folate may help lower the risk for breast cancer, especially in women who consume alcohol. Foods that contain folic acid (green leafy vegetables, legumes, and oranges) are likely to be preferable to folate supplements, due to their fiber, beta–carotene, vitamin C, and phytochemical content, all of which may have important roles in reduction of breast cancer and cancer risk in general.