As a nutritionist, I have come across various patients who merrily consume various harmful foods while being under the impression that since their diet included some healthy food they were at the liberty to eat almost anything they want.In this backdrop, let us take a look at the foods that can help reduce the risks of breast cancer.

Great White Hazards

The refined high glycemic index carbohydrates are definitely harmful. Such foods, as opposed to other kinds of carbohydrates, cause sugar levels in the blood to shoot up rapidly after consumption. This includes white sugar, white (polished) rice, and white flour (maida). Such carbohydrates have the ability to trigger hormonal changes, which in turn often promotes cellular growth in the breast tissue leading to cancer.

Avoid excess fat intake

The connection between fat intake and breast cancer is also noteworthy. Although fats are essential components in diet, the quality and amount of the intake is crucial.

It has been theorised that high fat diets have a detrimental effect in many ways — one being the ability to depress immunity. Many studies have indicated that high fat diets increase the virulence and spread of cancers. Saturated fatty acids are particularly harmful. The saturated fatty acids in meats promote high levels of hormone estradiol, considered a marker for high susceptibility to breast cancer. Excess intake of vegetable fats as found in corn oil, sunflower oil and safflower oil should also be avoided. Of course, Omega 3 fatty acids in fish oil that have anti-inflammatory effects are beneficial. Japanese women thus have an edge over their western counterparts. It is also worth noting that Mediterranean women who consume olive oil have a far lower incidence of breast cancer.

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