According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer remains the most common cancer in women. In spite of extensive screening, better treatment options, and ample research, 28 percent of approximately 740,000 women who developed cancer in 2010 were diagnosed with breast cancer, the highest percentage. Based on the last available data from 2004-2006, the lifetime probability of developing breast cancer for American women is one in eight. These statistics offer a strong incentive to find ways to reduce breast cancer risk. Adjusting your diet is one such way.
Guide to Risk Reduction
Marisa Weiss, M.D., director of Breast Health Outreach and Breast Radiation Oncology at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, has published a 32-page booklet entitled "Think Pink, Live Green." It is a self-help guide with detailed information about breast cancer prevention, which she wrote together with Joan Ruderman, PhD. Ruderman, Nelson Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, contributed to the scientific content. Weiss states in the introduction of the guide: "It's critical for women and girls to learn what they need to know about how to reduce their risk of breast cancer so they can make the best choices in their everyday lives."
Weiss's Recommendations
Weiss's recommendations for nutrition and diet include achieving a healthy weight and maintaining it; limiting the use of alcohol to five or fewer drinks a week; asking your doctor about getting enough vitamin D, whether through sun exposure, with supplements of vitamin D-3 or by eating oily fish; eating mainly a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts and spices; reducing exposure to chemicals and pesticides by making healthy food choices, organic when possible; choosing meat from animals not treated with antibiotics and growth hormones; limiting processed foods, foods made with refined flour or high in sugar; avoiding empty calories in foods without nutritional value; and cooking your own food in healthy ways -- steaming, roasting, stir-frying, poaching, grilling and baking.
Recommendations of the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society corroborates many of Weiss's recommendations. Being overweight or obese is a risk factor for breast cancer, especially after menopause. When the ovaries no longer produce estrogen, most of the hormone is produced by a woman's fat tissue. The higher the amount of fat tissue, the greater the exposure to estrogen, which increases the chance of developing breast cancer. In addition, overweight or obese women tend to have higher blood insulin levels, which is another risk factor for the disease. Considering the link between overweight, obesity and breast cancer, the American Cancer Society recommends a diet consisting of mostly plant foods with five or more servings a day of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and few processed and red meats. The relationship between alcohol and breast cancer has been clearly established. Drinking alcohol raises your risk exponentially, which is why the Cancer Society recommends one drink a day. One other factor deserves special mention, although it is not directly diet- or nutrition-related. Physical activity in the form of exercise has been shown to reduce breast cancer risk, especially in postmenopausal women. The guideline is to exercise for about 45 to 60 minutes five or more days a week.
Recommendations of the American Institute of Cancer Research
In its 2007 report "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective," the American Institute for Cancer Research compiled data from major research studies. According to the findings, the evidence that alcoholic drinks may increase breast cancer risk is convincing, both for premenopausal and for postmenopausal women. It also established a probable link between body fatness and cancer risk. Physical activity decreased risk in postmenopausal women; the evidence about the benefits of physical activity in premenopausal women was more equivocal. Interestingly, evidence that breastfeeding for at least six months decreases risk was convincing in both groups of women. The American Cancer Society and Weiss also emphasize the benefits of breastfeeding for reducing risk.
In Practice
The main areas to address to reduce your breast cancer risk include achieving and maintaining a healthy weight by engaging in exercise at least five days a week and by adhering to a healthy diet of mostly plant foods, preferably home-cooked. For more detailed information of what a diet of mostly plant foods looks like, the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has a website dedicated to fruits and vegetables with information about the different varieties, recommended intake, benefits, recipes and more. You will find the link to this website in the Resources section of this article. For a more comprehensive example of a healthy diet, take a look at the Mediterranean diet, also in the Resources section. The Mediterranean diet is a way of eating that closely reflects the principles of breast-cancer prevention diets.
References
- "Think Pink, Live Green"; Marisa C. Weiss, M.D., Joan V. Ruderman, Ph.D.; 2011
- American Cancer Society: Learn about Cancer: Breast Cancer
- World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research: Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective; 2007
