Before starting the article, we must explain that there is no miraculous product or food that ensures you are safe, neither from breast cancer nor any tumor. Among the factors that make the diet and lifestyle develop, they have a responsibility. However, other genetic, environmental, and chance factors make it impossible to reach zero risk.
What we can do is, through diet, be as healthy as possible, help our immune system and keep the risk, or the chances of suffering from cancer, as low as possible. In the same way, no food cures cancer, but we can use them to minimize side effects or help our bodies recover from treatments. In the following FastlyHealarticle, we will explain the relationship between diet and cancer. In addition, we will tell you the foods that prevent breast cancer or, at least, those that help us maintain a lower risk of suffering from it.
Table of Contents
Diet to prevent cancer
For years, the leading associations and organizations against cancer have been funding and carrying out studies to determine the relationship between the diet that a person eats with cancer in general and the breast in particular. These studies provide data that we must take into account, as they demonstrate some of the factors in our diet that have the most significant impact on both the risk of having it and its recurrence:
Obesity and breast cancer
One of the critical points to minimizing the risk of developing breast cancer or having it come back a second time is maintaining a good and healthy weight. A study dating back to 2005 showed that those women who, once diagnosed, gained weight had a more remarkable recurrence than those who maintained a healthy weight.
In the same way, those overweight women after menopause are much more likely to develop this type of tumor if we compare them with those who maintain an adequate weight.
Fat intake: a risk factor
Another danger discovered with the latest research is the benefits of a low-fat diet to our body concerning the risk of developing breast cancer. The data suggest that those women who in their diet only ingested 25% or less of the calories from fat had a much lower recurrence rate.
Diet recommendations to prevent cancer
Before explaining to you which are those foods that can help you reduce the risk of developing breast cancer and those that produce an adverse effect, we will give you some nutrition tips that the leading specialists recommend to follow, general aspects of the diet that will allow you to ground in between regarding this disease:
- It would be best to keep your weight at healthy levels about your body and height. In this sense, we recommend you visit the following FastlyHealarticle, in which we explain the formula to calculate the ideal weight in adults and children.
- Increase your intake of both fruits and vegetables.
- If the average daily fat intake with total calories is between 30 and 35%, you should reduce that percentage to 20%. You can start by eliminating some of the fattest foods, such as fried foods and processed foods.
- Increase the consumption of foods rich in Omega 3.
- Stay away from red meat, trans fats, or burned products.
Foods that prevent cancer
With everything that we have explained so far, you will have realized that diet is one of the most important tools with which we can minimize the risks of developing breast cancer. But, beyond the abstract recommendations, what are the foods that help us prevent it? We will detail them below:
- Fruit should be a cornerstone of your diet. You have to take fresh fruits daily.
- Vegetables and vegetables are another food that should prevail in our diet. More if we consider that most Western populations do not cover the minimum recommended intake.
- You have to eliminate refined cereals from the diet and replace them with whole grains. Whole wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, or other products such as oats, quinoa, or barley can benefit our diet.
- The legumes such as lentils, beans, or chickpeas should have an important place in our diet to prevent cancer.
- Eat foods rich in Omega 3 . Different studies show that they can play a fundamental role in preventing different types of cancer, including breast cancer. They are also associated with a lower risk of developing metastasis. Bluefish such as salmon, tuna, or shellfish contain large omega 3.
Forbidden foods for breast cancer
Just as there are a series of foods that should be part of the basis of your diet, essential products to provide your body with all the energy and strength necessary to stay away from the risk of cancer, there are other foods that cause the opposite effect, with harmful effects on our body that increase the chances of us suffering from cancer. Here we explain which are these prohibited foods for breast cancer :
- It would be best if you abstained as much as possible from consuming red meats -such as beef, pork, or lamb- as they are calorically very dense. It has been shown that they can increase the risk of suffering from different types of cancer, especially colon cancer, the second most frequently among the female population after the breast.
- As we have already explained, being obese and consuming too much fat are related to the risk of developing a breast tumor. If we consider that eating fast food is one of the main factors for obesity, limiting its intake as much as possible is advisable.
- The WHO recommends avoiding consuming processed meats such as cold cuts, charcuterie, or sausages.
- Avoid drinking sugary drinks.
- Alcohol causes estrogen levels and hormones that are associated with the development of breast cancer to increase. In addition, it is a harmful element that damages cellular DNA, increasing the risk of carcinogenic mutations. Refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages or limit your intake to less than two glasses per week.
This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor if you present any condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Foods that prevent breast cancer, we recommend that you enter our category of Female reproductive system.
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.