Dietary Fat Increases the Chances of Breast Cancer
According to studies based on a food frequency questionnaire, women whose 40 percentage of calorie intake is from fat, have about 15 percent more risks of having breast cancer than those women whose calorie intake from fat is only 20 percent. This is true in the case of all types of fat like saturated, monosaturated and polyunsaturated). In laboratory animals, both saturated fats and polyunsaturated fats containing omega-6 fatty acids have shown to increase the growth of breast tumors.
“Other studies have also found these associations; the higher the fat intake, the higher your risk for breast cancer.” says Dr. Anne C. M. Thiebaut from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
In a country like the United States where there are very high incidences of breast cancer, the fat makes up to 34% of their calorie intake. Dietary fat has also shown to increase the risk of breast tumor in laboratory animals. There are studies which have shown that consumption of olive oil reduces the risk of breast cancer. Fish oil also reduces the growth of tumors.