Breast Cancer Awareness: The Power of Prevention

According to Webster, prevention is defined as the process of keeping something from happening. With cancer – in particular, breast cancer – this is only partially true. When it comes to the prevention of any disease, there is a lot of advice and information available on the best ways to avoid getting sick. It is important to remember that, with disease, we can lessen the chances of getting sick – but there is no guarantee that we can completely prevent it. For the purposes of this article, we will discuss prevention as a way to lessen the chances of something happening.

Prevention is one of our best defenses for staying healthy. As October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it’s a great time to learn what dietary changes we can make to reduce the risk of getting breast cancer.

While some risk factors for breast cancer – such as age, gene mutations, and family history – are not preventable, other risk factors are. Being overweight or obese, eating a high-fat diet, drinking alcohol, and being physically inactive are just some of the modifiable risk factors for breast and many other cancers.

The following are dietary changes that you can make that have been shown to help reduce the risk of getting breast cancer:

- A Plant-Based Diet
Fruits, vegetables, legumes, soy, and whole grains are full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Research has shown that a diet that focuses on these foods provides many health benefits, including a reduction in cancer risk. On the other hand, a diet centered on high-fat meats has been shown to increase cancer risk. Smoked and cured meats, in particular, can lead to an increased risk for breast cancer. Limit consumption of foods containing sodium nitrites and sodium nitrates, which are two preservatives used to cure and smoke meat. These substances may be detrimental to breast cancer prevention.

- A Lower-Fat Diet
Most research has found that breast cancer is less common in countries where the typical diet is low in total fat and saturated fat. More research needs to be done in this area to determine if other types of fat (i.e., monounsaturated fat) provide a protective effect against breast cancer. But for now, studies have shown that a reduction in total fat, especially saturated fat, is important for prevention. Saturated fat is found mainly in high-fat dairy products, high-fat meats, and many baked goods.

In addition, fat is high in calories. Being overweight or obese is directly linked to an increased risk for breast cancer. Therefore, a reduction in total calories is important for weight management and, hence, breast cancer risk.

- A Diet Rich in Antioxidants
Oxidation is an inevitable body process that forms free radicals when certain body cells come in contact with oxygen. Antioxidants are substances found in our foods that prevent or repair damage to our cells caused by oxidation and therefore reduce the free radicals in the body. The following link to the April NCPAD nutrition column provides a useful chart of the antioxidants found in a variety of foods, which are very important in the prevention of breast and many other cancers: http://www.ncpad.org/nutrition/fact_sheet.php?sheet=609.

When it comes to diets low in fat and meat and high in vegetables and fruits, there are known benefits and very little known risks, which makes it easy to understand why health care professionals recommend these changes.

Prevention is powerful. There is so much in life that seems out of our control. Cancer is one of those things. It causes fear, anxiety, and a sense of helplessness. However, there are healthy dietary changes that can be effective in improving your health and reducing your risk, giving you some power and control to prevent (or lessen) the chances of getting a breast cancer diagnosis.

Sources:
Mackey, S. (2004). Promoting Lifestyle Modification for Cancer Prevention. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104(10), 1568-1569.

Maskarinec, G. (2005). Soy Foods for Breast Cancer Survivors and Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105(10), 1524-1528.

The American Cancer Society. Retrieved October, 2008. From http://www.cancer.gov.

Please send any questions or comments to Gillian Goodfriend at ggoodfri@uic.edu.

This fact sheet was last updated on 10-13-2008.