No food or diet can prevent breast cancer. But certain foods can make your body as healthy as possible, boost your immune system, and help keep your risk of breast cancer as low as possible.
Some foods may help control the side effects of treatment or help your body after treatment. Certain food choices may help cancer treatment work more effectively or may help you stay healthy. Others can be dangerous and interfere with healing and recovery.
Low-fat diet may reduce breast cancer risk for the first time.
Following a low-fat diet can help reduce the risk of breast cancer coming back. A study in which women got only about 25% of their daily calories from fat found a lower risk of breast cancer.
Regardless of the type of cancer you’ve had, you can get significant benefits from reducing the amount of fat in your diet. In addition, other healthy choices are more likely to come with a low-fat diet, such as eating more fruits and vegetables and losing weight. All of these changes together may help reduce risk.
No food or supplement is specifically linked to breast cancer.
There is no strong evidence that specific foods or supplements will reduce the risk of breast cancer. Research has shown that getting the nutrients you need from a variety of foods, especially fruits, vegetables and whole grains, can make you feel better and give your body the energy it needs.
You can get many of the nutrients you need from the food you eat. If you’re thinking about taking supplements, it’s a good idea to have your diet evaluated by a dietitian. You may need a little more of a certain nutrient like folate or vitamin A.
That’s why women with or without previous breast cancer often take a multivitamin and mineral supplement. Many women also need calcium supplements to meet their daily calcium needs.
