What’s On Your Plate And Goes In Your Mouth Matters: Lower-fat Diet Reduces Risk of Dying From Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the second deadliest cancer among women. According to American Cancer Society surveillance data, 268,600 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2019 in the United States. Out of which 27,700 will be in our sunny state of California. 41,760 (16%) women from this group of newly diagnosed cancer, are estimated to die from Breast cancer; 40% of these women will be less than 65 years of age.

If you keep up with National Public Radio and major newspapers, you must have heard about the groundbreaking research about diet and death form breast cancer that came out last week.  This exciting research has linked low fat diet to lower risk of dying from breast cancer. This is the first time a particular diet modification is conclusively linked to outcome from breast cancer. There is strong evidence for weight gain and risk of breast cancer, however no particular way of eating had been  linked to breast cancer outcomes. The research paper is going to be presented at a large national cancer conference in June. Interestingly enough the results are part of the Women’s Health Initiative* (WHI) study, which studied effects of hormone therapy, diet and certain supplements on the health of more than 160,000 postmenopausal women and followed their life on a long-term basis.

49,000 women from WHI study, were randomly divided into 2 groups – one group followed a low fat diet and the other ate their usual food. Women in both groups were followed for 8.5 years. Women in both groups developed breast cancer at similar rates, however the group on a low fat diet, had 20% less risk of dying form their disease compared to women on a regular diet.  This is the first study of its kind (by way of number of women studied, duration of follow up and scientific method used for this study), showing that what we eat has affect on dying from a particular kind of cancer.

What exactly constituted that “low or lower fat diet”? Women were shown how to lower their fat intake to 20% of their total daily calories. They were basically told to avoid red meat and full-fat dairy products, eat small portions of white meat and fill their plates with vegetables, fruits and grains. They essentially changed the portion and preparation of their meals without completely changing what they ate.  There was no particular type of food that they were not allowed to eat at all or advised to eat more. And the good news was – that although many women could not achieve the target of 20% but any effort towards that goal counted and lowered cancer related deaths. This brings us full circle back to moderation in eating and making healthier choices, see my first article on Voicebowl regarding moderation and balance in eating and exercising. You can read more about diet and breast health on BreastCancer.Org. and on Voicebowl.

Women undergoing treatment for breast cancer can now demand their health care providers, who are usually quite focused on chemotherapy, radiation or surgical approaches, to provide them with diet and exercise plans that can reduce their risk of dying from this not so uncommon disease.  This concept of changing cancer behavior by changing diet is a novel one although it should not be a surprising one.  What we choose to eat or not to eat is a powerful aide to our health and longevity. You must have noticed that this low fat diet is the same kind of diet that is recommended for health health, lowering risk of diabetes and high cholesterol.

Most of us know and love someone who has battled breast cancer. Some of us may have been on this journey our selves. Its empowering to know what we put on our plates matters and changing eating habits can go a long way towards healthy and long life.

It’s never too late to adopt a healthy lifestyle! Make smart and healthy choices everyday.  The more you do it, the easier and more natural it will be for you.

*The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) is a long-term national health study focused on varying approaches for preventing heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, and osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women.  WHI was launched in 1993, studied 161,808 women aged 50-79 years and followed them on a long-term basis.  Results and observations form WHI has changed the way health care providers manage these diseases. Results from the WHI Hormone Trials have been estimated to have already saved $35.2 billion in direct medical costs in the US alone.