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Novella Lui

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), breast cancer is the most frequent form of cancer among women, affecting 2.1 million females worldwide annually.
While there are a number of risk factors which you cannot change, such as a family history with breast cancer, you can reduce your risk by avoiding smoking and second-hand smoke.
Other lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your risk are maintaining a healthy body weight and engaging in regular physical activity.
In fact, being overweight or obese is a risk factor for breast cancer. In Hong Kong, the Breast Cancer Registry 2019 report (number 11) states 37.1 per cent to 39.3 per cent of the local breast cancer patients were overweight or obese. Individuals who are overweight or obese have higher insulin levels in the body, and higher insulin levels have been correlated with breast cancer.
Being overweight or obese is a risk factor for breast cancer

Eating well, therefore, along with regular physical exercise, is essential to managing a healthy body and reducing your risk of developing breast cancer in the long run.
Keep in mind, though: there is no specific diet to prevent breast cancer, but making wise food choices may help lessen the chances of developing it.
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Eat plant-based foods more often

To start, you may wish to incorporate more plant-based foods in your diet. There is a large body of scientific evidence summarised by the World Cancer Research Fund that shows eating plant-based foods, which contain dietary fibre, can protect against certain types of cancer, manage weight and reduce the risk of becoming overweight.
Plant-based foods include whole grains such as oats, barley, buckwheat, brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, pasta made with whole grains; legumes such as beans and lentils; nuts and seeds and vegetables and fruits. The presence of phytochemicals, which are nutrients with cancer-fighting properties, along with dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals, make plant-based foods the top priority as part of a healthful diet.
To include more plant-based foods as part of your meals and snacks, adjust the amount of animal-based products you consume. For instance, start by including half a plate (or bowl) of vegetables and fruits, a quarter filled with whole grains and the remaining quarter filled with legumes or lean, animal-based proteins such as fish and poultry without skin.
Go meatless more often


While meat is a great source of protein, iron, vitamin B12 and zinc, choosing leaner animal-based proteins and plant-based proteins, such as beans, lentil and tofu, could be a healthier alternative for weight management. If you are not a vegetarian or a vegan but are up for making dietary changes, you can choose to go meatless to increase your dietary fibre intake while maintaining a comparable protein consumption. You could try eating one plant-based meal for one day of the week and gradually work towards eating vegetarian meals for the entire day. Once you are comfortable with your meatless day, you can challenge yourself by having more meatless days.
A low-fat diet

In addition to eating plant-based foods more often, a Women’s Intervention Nutrition randomised study has shown that a low-fat diet, with 20 per cent of total calories coming from fat, may also decrease one’s risk of recurrent breast cancer.
A low-fat diet, particularly one with lower saturated fat, brings additional benefits, such as reducing risk of heart disease, and may help with managing weight.
Choosing plant-based foods and leaner meats more often is one way to reduce fat in your diet. These foods are not only lower in calories, but also have low to no saturated fat.
You may also wish to look at the food packaging before purchase. As an example, for dairy products, choose ones that are lower in fat, such as partially skimmed milk and cheeses with less than 20 per cent milk fat.
Choose the healthy fats

While a low-fat diet is better overall for your health, fat is still an essential nutrient for the body, and the quality of fat is as equally important as the quantity of fat.
Fats found in plant-based foods such as avocados, nuts and seeds, olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil and hemp seed oil are preferred over saturated fat from animal sources, such as those found in red meat.
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Be mindful of the amount of fats and oils you consume in your diet as the calories do add up quickly.
By following the 20 per cent-fat rule, as stated above, the amount of fat you eat per day should be no more than 9 to 11 teaspoons (45 to 55 millilitres), assuming that you follow a 2,000-calorie diet. This amount includes any butter, margarine, oils, salad dressings and fat naturally present in foods such as meat, nuts, seeds and dairy products.
Reduce added sugars


You may have heard through the grapevine or read online that cancerous cells require sugar for survival, so avoiding sugar helps prevent cancer.
This ideology is more of a myth than a fact.
It is true that cancer cells, like other body cells, use sugar as a form of energy. However, eliminating all types of sugar from the diet cannot prevent cancer because your body cells require sugar – specifically glucose, the building blocks of carbohydrates – to function and carry out bodily functions. Your brain, in particular, uses glucose as the primary source of energy.
While your body generally cannot live without glucose, we can choose healthier forms of carbohydrates in our diet.
Reducing and eliminating foods with added sugars, such as sugary beverages, baked goods, pastries and confectionery would be a start. They provide nothing but empty calories with minimal nutritional benefits.
Instead, fuel the body more frequently with foods containing naturally occurring sugars that are abundantly rich in beneficial nutrients, such as those found in whole grains, fruits and some vegetables like sweet potatoes and yams.
Avoid alcohol


Drinking alcohol is associated with developing breast cancer, according to an article in the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, as it may raise the body’s oestrogen levels and reduce the number of vitamins, such as vitamin A, vitamin C and folate, that guard against cell damage. The greater the amount of alcohol one consumes, the higher the risk. American Cancer Society states that women who drink one alcoholic drink per day have a 7 to 10 per cent higher risk than non-drinkers, while those who have 2 to 3 drinks have a 20 per cent higher risk.
If you want to prevent breast cancer or its recurrence, it is best abstain from alcohol.
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Controversies: soy and flaxseeds

Some people have raised the concern about eating soy and flax seeds due to the presence of phytoestrogens in these foods.
Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring plant-based chemicals that mimic the effects of oestrogen. Some believe that isoflavones, the type of phytoestrogens present in soy, may trigger certain types of breast cancer that are influenced by oestrogen.
To date, soy, which includes soy beans and tofu, is mostly perceived as a food that provides general health benefits. According to an article titled “The Pros and Cons of Phytoestrogens” published on US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, on the question of whether soy is totally safe, “the answer is likely complex and may depend on age, health status and even the presence or absence of specific gut microflora. Clarity on this issue is needed because global consumption is rapidly increasing”.
However, some population studies conducted in Asia have shown women who include one to two servings of soy daily have lower incidence of breast cancer. According to the article “Is soya bad for women’s health?” on the BBC’s website, “high soya intake among women in Asian countries has been linked to their 30 per cent lower risk of developing breast cancer compared to US women, who eat much less soya”.
Like other foods, choosing whole soy foods such as tofu and edamame, instead of processed soy such as soy burgers and supplements, which are concentrated form of soy, is recommended.
The same goes for flax seeds, which also have phytoestrogens present. A moderate amount of 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds per day is considered generally safe for consumption, but whether they could lower one’s risk of developing breast cancer, or of cancer recurrence remains questionable.
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By just making a few changes, such as losing weight, altering your diet and avoiding alcohol, you can drastically reduce the risk of getting breast cancer


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Breast cancer awareness month: 5 tips to help you stay healthy and reduce your risks

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}By just making a few changes, such as losing weight, altering your diet and avoiding alcohol, you can drastically reduce the risk of getting breast cancer

By just making a few changes, such as losing weight, altering your diet and avoiding alcohol, you can drastically reduce the risk of getting breast cancer