According to a study done by AAP Gateway, higher levels of dietary fiber during adolescence and young adulthood is linked to a significantly lower risk of breast cancer.
“From many other studies, we know that breast tissue is particularly influenced by carcinogens and anticarcinogens during childhood and adolescence,” said Walter Willett, Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard Chan School and senior author of the study. “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 researchers of this diverse and detailed study documented 2,833 cases of invasive breast cancer during 20 years of follow-up from the first questionnaire in 1991. There were 1,118 cases of breast cancer found while following up with the 44,263 women in 1998.
Risk for breast cancer was found to be between 12 and 19 percent lower among women who consumed more fiber in early adulthood. Those who ate more fiber during adolescence saw a 16 percent overall lower risk and 24 percent lower risk of developing the disease before menopause.
For every additional 10 grams of fiber consumed daily in early adulthood, the risk of breast cancer declined by 13 percent.
Prior studies of fiber intake as it relates to breast cancer lacked appropriate detail in examining diet during adolescence or early adulthood.
“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,” said Maryam Farvid, visiting scientist at Harvard Chan School and lead author of the study. “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.”