Breast Cancer
by: Laura S. Garrett, RD
Cancer is the
number 2 killer in the United States. Is there something you can do
to help prevent cancer? You bet there is. It is estimated that 1/3
of cancers are linked to diet. In addition, 3 to 4 MILLION cancer
cases could be prevented EACH YEAR simply by making dietary
changes!! Now that is wonderful news. The choices you make today can
affect your quality of living tomorrow.
It is a known fact that populations with higher rates of cancer have
different dietary habits than those with lower rates. This article
will cover several different nutrition issues related to breast
cancer. For the most part, the same dietary recommendations that
help reduce the risk of other cancers, heart disease, and
osteoporosis apply to breast cancer risk reduction.
Research has shown that women who eat their fair share of fruits and
vegetables have much lower rates of breast cancer. The minimum
recommendation is to eat 5 servings per day, aiming for 10 servings.
If you need help determining exactly what a serving is, here is a
link to NutrActive's free Serving Size Guide, Click Here.
Specific nutrients naturally found in fruits and vegetables seem to
play a role in reducing risk. Some of these nutrients include
vitamins C and E, and phytochemicals such as pycnogenols and
carotenoids. The most popular carotenoid is beta carotene. Word of
caution: If you desire to boost your intake of specific nutrients by
taking supplements, beta carotene is not one that has not shown
favorable results in studies. Taking an isolated amount of any one
carotenoid can throw the natural balance that you obtain through
your diet out of whack. It is far better to eat a handful of baby
carrots to get a boost of carotenoids the way mother nature
intended. As far as vitamins C and E, if you wish to supplement your
diet, these are both relatively safe and effective supplements. My
recommendation for vitamin C is do not take more than 500 mg per day
in supplement form. For vitamin E, do not exceed 400 IU per day.
Another nutritional element that may help reduce breast cancer risk
is fiber. Some of the fiber in your diet binds to estrogen. High
exposure to estrogen throughout one's life is one of the high risk
factors for breast cancer. Fiber intake can be increased by eating
more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Carrying around extra baggage is a strong risk factor for developing
breast cancer, especially if it is added during your adult years.
Some health experts used to think there was no harm in packing on a
few extra pounds with each passing year. It is now believed that
even a 10 to 20 pound increase in weight over an adult's life span
can increase the risk of developing breast cancer. Why? Possibly
because increased body weight seems to result in increased
circulating estrogen levels. For weight loss services and products,
Click Here.
Effects of Fat:
Unfortunately, research on the role of total fat consumption is
inconsistent. There has not been a lot of good research due to the
fact that people who eat high-fat diets are typically overweight.
Even if future research were not able to find an association between
total fat intake and breast cancer risk, consuming a diet low in fat
makes it much easier to maintain a lean body weight.
The standard advice is to consume no more than 30% of your calories
from fat. Some health professionals say it is better to limit fat
calories to 20% of your food intake. Here is an example to show you
how to calculate how many grams of fat you can eat and be following
the above guidelines. Let's say you typically eat 1800 calories a
day. Multiply 1800 times 30% (or .30). You get 540 which is the
total fat calories you can have that day. To calculate grams of fat,
divide 540 by 9. You can have 60 grams of fat per day. The number 9
is used because there are 9 calories per every 1 gram of fat. If you
are not a math wizard or you have no clue as to how many calories
you eat each day, you might like to have your nutritional intake
analyzed. This will clue you into just how many calories you consume
each day plus how many calories are from fat, Click Here.
There is evidence that saturated fats may increase breast cancer
risk. Sources include foods from animal origin, coconut oil, palm
oil, palm kernel oil, and cocoa butter. Monounsaturated fats may
actually help decrease breast cancer risk. Sources include olive
oil, canola oil, and peanut oil.
Of particular interest is olive oil. Aside from being a
monounsaturated fat, olive oil contains important phytochemicals and
a significant amount of vitamin E. Phytochemicals and vitamin E
possess antioxidant activity meaning they help protect against
oxidation, a process by which cancer can develop. Greek women
typically consume 42% of their calories from fat versus 35% consumed
by American women. Yet, Greek women have substantially lower rates
of mortality due to breast cancer when compared to American women.
How can that be? Unlike the typical American diet, most all of the
fat in the Greek diet comes from olive oil or fish. Fish has
promising benefits, too. Studies involving the use of fish oils seem
to indicate that fish oils can help reduce the risk of developing
breast cancer.
Keep in mind that the speculations associated with olive oil are
fairly new. There is no reason to start taking olive oil by the
spoonfuls. Because it is a beneficial fat, there is absolutely no
harm to included it in your diet. Just keep in mind that it is a fat
and fats provide a significant amount of calories. The biggest key
is to keep your weight under control.
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