Mediterranean Diet Helps Combat A Type Of Breast Cancer Claims Study

Following a Mediterranean diet might help reduce the risk of a particular type of breast cancer by about 40 percent. The study conducted by the World Cancer Research Fund showed that breast might be controlled by following a proper diet type.

Mediterranean diet that is mainly rich in olive oil, fruits, fish, nuts and more has several health benefits as well as reduces risk of heart diseases and cancer. A study published in the International Journal Of Cancer suggested that it could reduce the chances of women getting ER negative breast cancer The Guardian reported. This is a postmenopausal form of disease that can't be treated by hormone therapy.

"Our research can help to shine a light on how dietary patterns can affect our cancer risk. We found a strong link between the Mediterranean diet and reduced oestrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women, even in a non-Mediterranean population. This type of breast cancer usually has a worse prognosis than other types of breast cancer," said Prof Piet van den Brandt, the lead researcher of the study.

According to CNN the researchers studied 62,573 women all aged between 55 to 69 years. The diets of the women were tracked to see closely they followed the Mediterranean diet. This diet also had a low intake of sweets, red meat, refined grains and more. However, the diet includes moderate consumption of alcohol. But since alcohol poses breast cancer risk, it was excluded from the study.

Interestingly, almost 12000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented across the UK if no one drank alcohol, the study claimed. In the study, almost 3354 women suffered from breast cancer. However, 1013 cases weren't included since those women either had a history of breast cancer or submitted incomplete data.

Each and every component of the Mediterranean diet was scrutinized. It was seen that nuts were inversely associated with ER followed by fruits and fish. The researchers concluded that if everyone ate Mediterranean diet, about a third of world's breast cancer could be avoided.