Young women approaching puberty could reduce their risk of breast cancer if they avoid high-fat diets, researchers from Michigan State University claim.
Friday, November 29, 2013
The research published in the current online issue of Breast cancer Research suggests that eating a diet high in saturated animal fats not only speeds up the development of breast cancer, but also may increase the risk of developing the disease.
Experimenting on mice, the researchers from the Breast Cancer and the Environmental Research Program at Michigan State University (MSU) found that just 3 weeks after embarking on the high-fat diet, mice showed changes in the breast, including increased cell growth and alterations in the immune cells.
They note that these changes are permanent and may lead to the rapid development of precancerous lesions, and ultimately, breast cancer.
MY TAKE:
This is excellent basic research. More funds need to be expended in looking at the basic cause of disease. MSU began as an agricultural college; they are well suited to such studies.
Don’t look for any change in our eating habits, patient counseling, or treatment protocols regardless of how many studies demonstrate the correlation between diet and cancer. Just like heart disease and diabetes, where the link is well documented, we acknowledge that diet is cause, then ignore the fact, and move on to new forms of drug therapy.
There are several good studies correlating estrogen and breast cancer. Simply adding cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli or cabbage, to the diet will minimize that risk. How did the medical community respond to this information? They developed a drug, Tomoxifin, that targets estrogen dominant cancers, rather than promote prevention. Further studies have shown that adding a cruciferous supplement to the diet, makes the Tomoxifin 50 times more effective at preventing the recurrence of cancer. Seldom, if ever, is this information passed from the oncologist or gynecologist to the patient.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Clean up your diet and your daughter’s diet as well. Cut out the saturated fats and trans-fats, add in the cruciferous vegetables. If you have a family history of breast cancer, or you just want to assess your risk factors, ask your doctor to perform genetic testing, salivary, and urine hormone levels. Look for a future blog on hormonal and genetic testing.
