Fruit, Alcohol & Breast Cancer

In the category of “Good News/Bad News,” a new study has determined that teens who eat fruit may be building up protection against breast cancer. On the flip side, a linked study indicates that alcohol consumption later in life will aggravate the risk. Both studies were just published in the BMJ.

Using data that tracked 90,000 people over 20 years, a team from the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston discovered that high-consumption teen fruit eaters had a 25 percent lower risk of breast cancer. High fruit and vegetable consumption was considered to be 2.9 servings a day, compared with low consumption of 0.5 servings. Apples, bananas, and grapes consumed during adolescence, and oranges and kale during early adulthood, appear to be particularly beneficial, with fruits and vegetables that are rich in α-carotene offering the most protection.

In a linked study, researchers from the University of Southern Denmark in Copenhagen looked at data for 22,000 post-menopausal women to see how modifying alcohol intake might impact the risk of breast cancer and heart disease. Their work showed that alcohol consumption appears to increase the chance of breast cancer, while rates of coronary heart disease seem to be lower among light to moderate drinkers, compared with abstainers.

Results showed that women who increased their alcohol intake by two drinks per day over 5 years had around a 30 percent higher risk of breast cancer but a 20 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease, compared with those who did not change their alcohol consumption.

In contrast, lowering alcohol intake over the 5-year period did not appear to alter the risk of either breast cancer or coronary heart disease significantly.

The authors of the study, Prof. Timothy J. Key and Prof. Gillian K. Reeves, say the results support the hypothesis linking alcohol with a higher risk of breast cancer and a lower risk of coronary heart disease. "There may be some benefit with low to moderate intakes of alcohol, but this could be outweighed by an increased risk of breast cancer and other morbidities. Furthermore, risk of ischemic heart disease can be reduced substantially by other lifestyle changes, as well as by drugs such as statins shown to be effective in primary prevention."