Your diet and exercise levels can impact your chances of getting breast cancer — but how strong are these factors, exactly?
If you spend enough time scrolling through WebMD, absolutely anything can start to look like a symptom, predictor, or side effect of cancer. From the rash on your neck to the strange ache you’ve felt in your right foot lately to that one day in July you went to the beach without any sunscreen — all of it can become an omen.
When it comes to monitoring your own health, finding the right balance to strike (aka managing to stay informed without becoming paranoid) can feel like walking a tightrope. This is why we wanted to explore the truth about how two common lifestyle factors — diet and exercise — actually impact your chances of getting breast cancer. Because there is certainly a lot out there about how diet and exercise decrease your risk of well…anything. But before you go emptying your fridge or buying a very expensive exercise bike, we’re getting to the bottom of these connections.
To do so, we spoke with Erika Hamilton, MD, the director of breast cancer and gynecologic cancer research at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee Oncology, about how diet and exercise do (and don’t) impact rates of breast cancer.
How much does your level of exercise actually impact your chances of getting breast cancer?
“The strongest connection we can make is between a healthy body weight and the chance of breast cancer after menopause,” Dr. Hamilton explains.
As for exercise, there are studies suggesting associations between regular exercise and a reduced risk of breast cancer, but there is no proven causal relationship between exercise and breast health. With that said, you should always view exercise as one of several tools at your disposal to keep healthy, both physically and mentally, as you grow older.
How does food impact breast health?
“In terms of actual dietary factors and risk of breast cancer, some studies suggest that eating fruits and vegetables may be linked to a lower risk of breast cancer,” Dr. Hamilton says.
When it comes to breast health and diet, most studies point out that these two topics might have associations or correlations, but don’t seem to have a direct or causal relationship. For example, this 2019 study suggested that a diet with a “high intake of red meat, animal fats, and refined carbohydrates” was “associated with an increased risk” of breast cancer, while a diet with an intake of “fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and dietary fiber” had a lower association with breast cancer, but also went on to say the results were “inconclusive.”
High-fat foods in particular appear to be strongly correlated with breast cancer. In an episode of The Exam Room, a health podcast, breast cancer surgeon Kristi Funk, MD, explained why it’s so important to monitor your consumption of high-fat foods.
“A recent study looked at just over 1800 early-stage breast cancer thrivers,” Dr. Funk explained, “And they were followed for years…and the study found that those who had one or more daily servings of high-fat dairy, like butter and ice cream, versus those who had less than half a serving a day, had a 49 percent increase in all-cause mortality.”
As Dr. Funk noted in this conversation, one or more servings might not be an amount of food that someone would consider a lot, which is why this information is so valuable. There are likely countless people who consume several servings of high-fat foods each day without even realizing it.
How to eat to prevent breast cancer
One way to do it? Balance out one type of fat with another.
“You’re in a very inflammatory state if you have too many omega-6 fats versus 3s,” Dr. Funk says. “The highest concentration of healthy omega-3 fatty acids on the planet is in flax seeds, so I want to see women eating two tablespoons of ground flax seeds a day. And where are you getting all the inflammatory ones if you’re a plant-based eater? Probably the oils. So watch your processed foods with the sneaky oils.”
Dr. Funk also offered a quick list of superfoods that every person should incorporate into their daily diet: soy, broccoli sprouts, arugula, kale, flax seeds, berries, apples, and green tea.
It’s not just food you have to consider with diet, though. It’s also beverages, like alcohol — and when it comes to this aspect of your diet, there’s much more consensus in the scientific community about how it impacts your breast health.
Unlike food, the connection between alcohol consumption and breast health is considered causal, with studies showing a consistent association between those who consume alcohol and higher risks of breast cancer.
This might not be the best news for those who like to unwind at the end of a long day with a nice glass of wine — but fortunately, not all of your favorite beverages are connected to breast health. In fact, caffeine has no connection to breast health whatsoever, Dr. Hamilton notes.
Lifestyle changes you can make to decrease your chance of getting breast cancer
While the intensity of the connection between diet, exercise, and breast cancer will change for every person (especially when you take into consideration more significant factors like genetics and age), there are certain tactics any person can take to keep themselves as healthy as possible.
“I counsel my patients to exercise at least several times per week,” Dr. Hamilton says. “This doesn’t have to be fancy — it can be a simple 30-minute walk after dinner with a family member or friend.”
Dr. Hamilton also suggests taking a moderate, holistic approach to your diet, rather than focusing on one that’s defined by restriction. “I don’t advocate any specific diet such as low carbohydrate, vegetarian, or vegan,” she says. “Having a well-balanced diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables and maintains your normal body weight is the important part however you want that to look.”
But what about other lifestyle choices, like drinking alcohol?
“The lifestyle factors that increase breast cancer risk are drinking more than one alcoholic beverage a day, not being physically active, not having children by age 30, not breastfeeding, and being on combined hormone therapy replacement after menopause,” Hamilton says. “Again, all of these can increase or decrease your risk by a little bit, but it doesn’t mean you’re safe if you have none of them, or that you’re doomed if you have them all.”
