According to a recent study it has been revealed that women who have a high fibre diet are less likely to develop breast cancer.
According to Researchers at Harvard University, women who eat moderate amounts of fibre on a daily basis during their youth are less likely to develop the illness later in life. Researchers say they analyzed data from the Nurses’ Health Study II that looked at information from 1991 on almost 100,000 premenopausal women between the ages of 27 and 44. Then, researchers asked them follow-up questionnaires to be completed by over 40,000 of the women in 1998 regarding their diets in high school.
The study which was headed by Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University says: “From many other studies we know that breast tissue is particularly influenced by carcinogens and anticarcinogens during childhood and adolescence.” “We now have evidence that what we feed our children during this period of life is also an important factor in future cancer risk.”
The results showed that almost 3,000 cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed during a 20-year follow-up from the initial questionnaire in 1991. Whilst a little over 1,000 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed during the follow-up with from the 1998 questionnaire.
The findings showed that breast cancer risk declined by about 13% for each additional 10 grams of fiber eaten daily in early adulthood, researchers say. Furthermore, the findings found that breast cancer risk was between 12% and 19% lower among women who ate fiber on a regular basis during early adulthood. Even more surprisingly, those who ate more fiber during adolescence saw a 16% overall lower risk of developing the illness.
Meanwhile Dr. Maryam Farvid, visiting scientist at Harvard Chan School of Public Health says: “Previous studies of fiber intake and breast cancer have almost all been non-significant, and none of them examined diet during adolescence or early adulthood, a period when breast cancer risk factors appear to be particularly important.” Before noting: “This work on the role of nutrition in early life and breast cancer incidence suggests one of the very few potentially modifiable risk factors for premenopausal breast cancer.”