Practical and Common-Sense Breast Cancer Dietary Tips

1. Avoid trans-fats

Avoid consumption of processed foods, which is the main source of industrially produced trans-fatty acid.

An increased intake of trans-fatty acids may raise the risk of breast cancer by 75 percent, suggest the results from the French part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

Women with breast cancer have higher levels of trans fats in their bodies than other women, suggesting–but not proving–that eating trans may raise the risk of the disease, says a new report from the European Community Multi-center Study on Antioxidants, Myocardial Infarction, and Breast Cancer.

Scientists at the national scientific research center at the University of Paris in France, discovered the link between trans-fats and breast cancer after carrying out a study of women taking part in a large European cancer trial.

The team found that women with the highest blood levels of trans-fats had about twice the risk of breast cancer compared to women with the lowest levels.

Trans-fats can be found in cooking fats, baked goods, snacks and a variety of other prepared foods.

2. Avoid vegetable Oils

Increased consumption of omega-6 fatty acids, found in corn oil and most of the oils used in bakery products, could be a reason for the rise in incidence of breast cancer in recent years, say many health researchers.

Omega-6 fats have been linked to the development of breast cancer, with a Spanish team reporting in 2004 that the fats enhanced expression of certain genes that accelerate the disease.

Omega-6 fats are found in refined supermarket cooking oils such as soy oil, corn oil, sunflower, safflower oil, in margarine, and in all processed foods that use these.

3. Eat Omega-3 fatty acids

Epidemiological research has clearly identified a significant inverse correlation between a woman’s consumption of foods rich in omega-3 fats and her risk for breast cancer.

Eat at least three servings a week of cold-water fish such as tuna, wild salmon, halibut, mackerel, haddock, cod, and sardines. If you don’t eat fish, you can also take fish oil capsules (2 to 10g a day).

Read more on the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids for breast cancer.

4. Eat only organic free-range eggs

Avoid commercially produced eggs and eat only eggs that come from free-roaming hens fed on organic Omega 3 enhanced feed. Free-range, cage-free chickens have a greater variety of diet, producing eggs that contain more omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E.

Omega 3 enhanced eggs are from hens fed a diet flax seed or fish oils. Omega 3 enhanced eggs contain more omega 3 fatty acids and Vitamin E than the regular eggs. An independent test conducted by the CBC’s TV show Marketplace found that omega-3 enhanced eggs contain approximately 7 times more omega 3 fatty acids than regular white eggs.

Free-range organic eggs have nearly twice the vitamin E, four times the beta carotene (a precursor to vitamin A), four times the omega-3 fatty acids, and half the cholesterol. In addition, the free-range eggs have a significant amount of folic acid.

Several studies have shown similar results—one even showed free-range organic eggs to have thirteen times the omega-3 fatty acids!

Research has confirmed that the essential nutrient choline, which is found in eggs, can significantly reduce the risk of getting breast cancer.

In 2003, a Harvard University study indicated that subjects who consumed more eggs and fiber than the average girl during adolescence had a smaller risk of developing breast cancer as adults. Eating one egg per day was associated with an 18 percent reduction in risk.

Conclusion: Eat only organic/hormone free egg products that are free of residue of estrogenic hormones that have been linked to promoting breast cancer.

5. Avoid processed soy products

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently announced results of research suggesting that the highly purified soy foods and soy supplements marketed in the United States may promote the growth of some pre-existing breast cancers.

6. Eat whole soy products

There have been many studies suggesting that eating whole soy products can help to lower the risk of breast cancer. It’s been shown for example that Oriental women, who have a lower-than-normal incidence of breast cancer, consume much larger amounts of soy products than most American women. When Asian women move to the United States, however, their intake of soy products goes down and their incidence of breast cancer goes up.