It's true, women who survive breast cancer and load up on nutritious fruits and veggies as part of a breast cancer diet (a whole lot more than the current U.S. dietary guidelines) might just slash their risk of a tumor recurring by nearly one third. This according to a just released U.S. study to appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The researchers took another look at data from almost 3,000 breast cancer patients (average age 53) who were part of research that focused on diet and preventing breast cancer recurrence.
Half the participants were told to double their fruit and veggie intake to 10 servings per day, eat more fiber and lower their daily fat intake to levels under the government recommendations, a type of healthy eating that's been shown to lower the risks of developing breast cancer in the first place.
The other group was merely given information about the U.S. food guidelines.
An important distinction of this latest study was that it found the reduced risk of tumor recurrence came only for women who didn't have hot flashes (a common side effect) after their cancer treatment. Women who did cope with hot flashes after treatment were found to have lower estrogen levels.
“Women with early stage breast cancer who have hot flashes have better survival and lower recurrence rates than women who don't,” said Ellen Gold of the University of California Davis, who was a leader of the research. Earlier work supports the theory regarding hot flashes and rates of tumor returns.
Researchers noted that vegetables and fruits act on suppressing estrogen (suspected in driving the most common form of breast cancer). They point to individual levels of the hormone as a possible explanation for inconsistent study results regarding fruits and veggies and reduction in recurrence of breast cancer tumors - some studies said they helped, others showed they didn't. It may be that differing estrogen levels in the individual that offers another clue to this discrepancy.
The team found that only 16% of subjects, without hot flashes, who had doubled up on the fruits and veggies had their tumors return after a seven year period.
Of those given only diet advice and information on guidelines, the tumors returned in 23% of the subjects. Women who had been through menopause lowered their risk by a whopping 47%.
The amount or fruits or vegetables you need to eat per day is well over what the U.S. recommended daily allowance of 2 cups of fruits or 2½ cups of veggies. You'll want to choose a variety of these healthy options, and look for foods grown as close to home as possible.
Be sure that when you bring these good-for-you treats home, you wash them well (with warm, soapy water), rinse and dry them carefully to remove pesticides, herbicides or mold.
Breast cancer is the most common condition, affecting women in both North America and Europe, and it is the second leading cause of death, after lung cancer, of American women.
Your lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is estimated to be 1 in 8, but thanks to today's treatment and detection options, your chance of dying from breast cancer is much lower at 1 in 28.
Now, with this research revealing useful breast cancer diet tips, even these numbers can be improved with the addition of a whole lot of good-for-you fruits and tasty veggies!
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The quality of the results of these comparative studies does not leave much to the imagination. They are based on agricultural production numbers and state nothing about the fat consumption of individual persons.
Besides societies differ, where there is little fat eaten as in traditional Japanese rural regions or in Africa as compared to our prosperous western societies that it is impossible to link back the different diseases such as breast cancer to only a meal or to an individual material like fat.
Take young African women who get their periods later than western females, but they bear their first child in earlier years and have far more children. Each of these factors reduces the statistical risk for breast cancer.
The latest and more methodical studies in which women who consumed a great deal of food but with little fat were compared directly with each another. The results did not provide any proven evidence that vouches for the fact that any one different source of fat was worse or better than the other.
It did not play a role whether the fat was of animal or vegetable origin and whether it predominantly consisted of unsaturated fatty acids.
As breast cancer promotions advertize a bad nutrition is also regarded as too many calories, too much fat, alcohol and meat. On the other hand a low fat food diet is better for the chest and rich in base materials, vegetables, fruit, anti-oxidants and vitamins.
But how well are these statements proven by scientific investigations?
In laboratories it has been proven that mice set on half rations of food live longer and rarely get cancer. So do women who want to protect themselves against breast cancer have to do likewise?
It is advised that it would not be beneficial for women to go on these stringent diets because first of all observation studies of humans did not result in a connection between the calorie admission and the risk of breast cancer. Secondly from experience it shows that humans who are constantly dieting on and off tend to put on weight rather than become thinner.
Nevertheless there is an indirect effect of our western way of life on the risk of breast cancer. Our children mature exceedingly faster especially the females who are becoming sexually ripe earlier. Statistically this earlier stage of development is accompanied with an increase in breast cancer.
Also the connection between the predominance of breast cancer is far less clear, than what has been studied and read in technical literature. The data shows that years ago chubby women seemed to be protected against chest tumors. Past statistics have shown this.
Past published studies showed an increase in weight did not result in a higher risk of getting this form of breast cancer. These extra pounds of body weight actually help protect against Osteoporosis, the fearful decalcifying of the bones.
With the rising consumption of meat about half of the studies published so far have not resulted in an increased risk of breast cancer, the other half were undecided which is possibly explained by the fact that there are some women who have sensitive reactions to meat
The women with sensitive reactions showed certain characteristics in their hereditary factors, which are presently being intensively investigated. Which leads to a possible concern as to the benefit of meat. It is important to know that the questionable substances develop particularly with well done meat. In addition these reactions can be further intensified to a minimum by meat spices such as Thyme, Mint and Mustard.
As far as alcohol goes most studies found an increase of the risk of breast cancer, some starting from a drink per day. However the aggravation of risk was only slight. While alcohol is not favorably healthy in larger quantities, the benefits of alcohol in moderation must be taken in to account. Such as its favorable effect on the cardiovascular system, a moderate consumption of alcohol in the second part of life accompanies clearly with decreased cardiac problems and impacts disease accumulation risk with a higher life expectancy!
Fruit and vegetables are healthy, but consuming a large amount of vegetables and fruits, do not however automatically offer a higher protection from breast cancer. Several large studies could not provide any proof of a special protective effect by a high fruit and vegetable consumption. However that in no way diminishes the importance of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy nutrition!
The same with vitamins like anti-oxidants, vitamin E, C and A, whilst good for you there is no undisputable evidence that vitamins can reduce the risk of breast cancer. References have been made that Vitamin E and C can actually help enrich the tumor helping it to protect itself against the medicines meant to destroy it.
A possible exception concerns a Vitamin of the B-group. Whether it is really useful however will only be shown through future studies as more data is collected and recommendations made.
Beside Vitamin and mineral supplements vegetables contain secondary plant compounds that could be helpful. Among these substances for example ranked highly is Flavonoid (group of antioxidant chemical compounds) and Phytoestrogens (compounds that occur naturally in plants).
Therefore they are at present investigated intensively with laboratory and animal experiments as well as a set of human observation studies pointed towards the chest-protecting effect of Phytoestrogens.
Before purposeful nourishing recommendations can be given, the researchers must however still clarify how the processing of the food affects the effect of these substances.
Still with all the existing knowledge gaps it can safely be said that there is no Diet or food form which can heal cancer!
Both Kirsten Whittaker & John Stone are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kirsten Whittaker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Types of Cancer, Business Intelligence and Travel and Leisure. Next just head on over to the for more health tips including more on healthy eating, including. Kirsten Whittaker's top article generates over 450000 views. to your Favourites.
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