Q&A: Can dietary steps help prevent breast cancer?

Oct 23, 2009 7:45 AM

Cutting back on alcohol, red meat, and fat, especially trans fats, are three possible steps. Even a drink or two a day of beer, hard liquor, or wine might slightly increase the risk for breast cancer, possibly by affecting estrogen levels, and two to five daily drinks raises the risk 1.5 times that of teetotalers. Cutting total fat intake to about 15 percent of total calories might also slightly lower breast-cancer risk, especially among high-risk women, according to a study from the National Cancer Institute.

Reducing trans fat, which comes mainly from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, might be particularly important. European researchers collected blood samples from nearly 20,000 women, then followed them for up to seven years. Women with a high level of trans fat in their blood had up to twice the risk of those with a low level. To limit your intake, check food labels, especially on processed foods, for the trans-fat content.

Consuming more than five servings of red meat a week might also boost risk, according to a recent study that followed more than 90,000 women for 12 years. Women who did were 42 percent more likely to develop the most common kind of breast cancer than women who ate fewer than three servings.

Certain other foods may help ward off breast cancer. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage, for example, are high in indoles, compounds that may protect against breast cancer by lowering levels of estrogen, a hormone that fuels many tumors. But the best bet is simply a balanced diet high in a variety of produce, lots of whole grains, and moderate amounts of fish.

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