Diet change can cut breast cancer risk by 40%, expert says
Breast cancer experts have explained how lifestyle can dramatically increase your risk of contracting the illness, but also say small changes can make a big difference. Lester Barr, consultant breast surgeon and founder of the charity Prevent Breast Cancer was speaking ahead of Bresat Cancer Awareness month in October.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK with 1 woman diagnosed every 10 minutes. Around 55,000 women and 400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK. There were 11,499 deaths from breast cancer in the UK between 2016 and 2018 - but experts say almost a quarter of cases are preventable.
Lester said: “Lifestyle has a huge role to play in impacting your risk of developing breast cancer. Being overweight, drinking to excess, smoking and not exercising enough have all been shown to increase your risk of developing breast cancer.
“We all know that we should live a healthy lifestyle, but sometimes that’s easier said than done. That said, research has indicated that reversing poor health trends - for example, by losing weight that you’ve gained - can help reverse your increased risk.
“Gaining weight throughout your lifetime increases your risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause, and the more weight you gain, the higher the risk. The good news is that if you’re overweight, losing just 5% of your weight (and keeping it off!) can reduce your risk substantially – by between 25 and 40%.
“Meanwhile, evidence has proven that regular exercise reduces your risk of breast cancer. Going for a gentle walk isn’t enough - exercise should make you breathe harder and make your heart beat faster - and you should aim for five sessions a week to help reduce your risk of breast cancer.”
Prevent Breast Cancer research dietitian Profesor Michelle Harvie said: "There is no single food we think either causes or can prevent breast cancer by itself. But there are certain recommendations for a healthy diet."
She added: "Weight gain is probably one of the strongest factors. So a healthy detain os one that helps you to maintain a healthy weight."
Professor Harvie said: "We certainly advocate a diet that has plenty of fruit and vegetables and a variety of them. It contains plenty of fibre and whole grains because we know that fibre can actually help reduce levels of oestrogen and oestrogen is a driver for a lot of breast cancer.
"And we advocate reducing the amount of saturated animal fat in the diet, particularly from red meat."
She said: "There is some evidence that if you have a meaty meal every day then those women seem to be at 10% higher risk of breast cancer."
And Professor Harvie said most of us can benefit from taking vitamin D during the winter.