Healthy plant-based diets reduce risk of breast cancer

Plant-based diets reduce the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, according to this new study.

Researchers collected data from over 65,000 women and found that those who followed a healthy, plant-based diet of fruit, vegetables, pulses and wholegrains, for the longest period of time, had the least risk of cancer compared to those who ate animal products and less healthy foods. Those who followed lower quality diets, including refined or processed foods and animal products, increased their risk for breast cancer.

“These findings highlight that increasing the consumption of healthy plant foods and decreasing the consumption of less healthy plant foods and animal foods might help prevent all types of breast cancer,” said Sanam Shah, a doctoral candidate in the Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health at Paris-Saclay University, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, France, the study’s lead author.

This new research adds to a growing body of evidence showing how adding more fruit and vegetables to your diet can protect your health.

Shah S, Mahamat-Saleh Y, Ait-Hadad W et al. 2022. Adherence to healthy and unhealthy plant-based diets and risk of breast cancer overall and by hormone receptor and histologic subtypes among postmenopausal women. Current Developments in Nutrition. 6, 1, 253.