Key Findings (from the World Cancer Research Fund- American Institute for Cancer Research)
- Adult weight gain and excess body fat increase risk for post-menopausal breast cancer.
- Alcoholic drinks increase the risk of post- and pre-menopausal breast cancers.
- Regular vigorous physical activity reduces the risk of both post- and pre-menopausal breast cancers.
- Moderate physical activity reduces the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer.
- Breastfeeding reduces the risk of both post- and pre-menopausal breast cancers.
- For pre-menopausal breast cancers, body fatness was found to decrease risk.
Eating Habits vs Dieting
Include nutrient-rich plant foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and pulses (like dry beans and lentils) throughout each day’s eating. Eating like this lowers your risk of cancer and helps protect heart health, too.
- Fiber: When you eat a wide range of these plant foods, you get several types of fiber, each protecting your health in different ways. Some types support a healthy gut microbiome (bacteria living in your gut) that may help avoid chronic inflammation, while other types of fiber help limit blood sugar rise after meals and thus insulin levels, reduce levels of estrogen or promote heart health.
- Phytochemicals: Different colors of fruits and vegetables means you get different vitamins and minerals, and also natural plant compounds (phytochemicals), each offer help for cell signaling and other processes that keep cells healthy.
- Soy foods: Don’t be afraid of foods like tofu, tempeh, edamame and soy nuts. Some women, particularly after estrogen-sensitive breast cancer, are afraid that the isoflavone compounds in soy foods pose risk. But the fear-inducing rumors that keep circulating on the Internet were de-bunked years ago. Now research shows that soy foods promote heart health without breast cancer-related risk. In fact, soy food consumption is associated with fewer deaths from all causes combined among breast cancer survivors.
Source and for more information:
https://www.aicr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/breast-cancer-report-2017.pdf