Can we Prevent Breast Cancer through Diet ?

Breast cancer is a disease responsible for nearly 11,500 deaths each year. In 2012, the National Cancer Institute (INCA) registered nearly 50,000 new cases. It is estimated that about one in eight women will experience this terrible disease in their lifetime. This pathology alone weighs more than 30% of all cancers, and the mortality it generates for more than 18%. This is the leading cause of cancer death for women.
Is there anything that can be done about our diet to help move it away?

Read also :

Breast Cancer: 12 Tips to Prevent It (1)

Breast Cancer: 12 Tips to Prevent it (2)

Breast Cancer Prevention: It's about what you eat

More than half of the women are, fortunately, now being screened (52% in 2012), but this proportion should be further increased. Early detection would allow healing in 9 out of 10 cases. Today we know the main risk factors. Not surprisingly, we find:

• the tobacco
• the alcohol
• the stress
• overweight and obesity

And, in the particular case of breast cancer, there is also the use of an oral contraceptive.

Indirectly, overall lifestyle and dietary habits in particular play a preventive role in the occurrence of breast cancer, apart from any other risk factors that can not be acted upon, such as genetic predisposition and antecedents. family. The CNIB estimates that nearly 40% of cancers - all types combined - could be prevented by simple changes in our lifestyles.

Eat ... to protect yourself

What if you start now to pay attention to what you put on your plate?

The benefits of fiber have been known for a long time to reduce the prevalence of colorectal cancer, for example, and the detrimental effect of excess red meats - the INCA recommends limiting its consumption to less than 500 g per week . The negative effect of charcuterie products - often very fat and salty - and certain types of cooking is also well documented. Can these truths be extrapolated to other cancers?

Breast cancer: the proven risks

According to the Institut Curie, a diet rich in saturated fatty acids - of animal origin - and in trans fats in industrial products such as certain margarines, pastries, etc. - would promote the risk of breast cancer, while a diet the good share of fruits and vegetables would tend to diminish it.

In practice, how?

There is no miracle recipe, but rather common sense: a balanced and varied diet associated with the regular practice of physical activity are your best assets. You will follow the recommendations of the National Health Nutrition Program:

• Choose the seasonal plants, if possible organic;
• If you are not vegetarian, prefer lean meats (white meats), sources of good fatty acids (salmon, flax seeds, vegetable oils ...);
• Have a light hand on sweet products, which should not represent more than 10% of your total energy intake;
• Also prefer complete products (pasta, rice, breads, legumes ...) to their refined counterparts to benefit from their richness in fiber and minerals;
• Cook your vegetables little to preserve their antioxidant vitamin C content.
• If you are not dairy intolerant, prefer semi-skimmed dairy products and avoid fully skimmed products unless they are fortified with vitamin D, a source of high nutritional value protein and calcium.

Danger: fatty, salty, sweet and alcoholic foods

Remember: foods that are very fat, very salty and very sweet produce fat. However, this fat is potentially a risk factor for breast cancer, although we do not yet know the mechanisms by which it would act.
It seems that adipocytes - the cells that store fat - promote the spread of cancer cells - inducing metastases. This was revealed by a study conducted by a French team at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse (1).
On the other hand, alcohol increases the levels of estrogen, a hormone that plays a role in the development of tumor cells. Its effects are counted from the frequency of a glass a day. According to the CNIB, alcohol is responsible for a 10% increased risk for breast cancer.

As you can see, there are foods that promote the occurrence of cancer and others that decrease it. Keep in mind that it's never too late to do the right thing and now you're ready to cook!