Animal Foods and BC Risk

[harrie]

Studies do not support unhealthful relation between animal foods and breast cancer [Eureka News Service]

Breast cancer is the 7th leading cause of mortality in the United States and results in approximately 41,000 deaths each year. Although genetic factors are important, there is considerable evidence that breast cancer risk is related to modifiable lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, body weight, alcohol intake, and dietary choices. The September 2009 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports the results of 3 human studies designed to better delineate the relation between animal foods and breast cancer risk.

"These studies highlight two very important points," said American Society for Nutrition Spokesperson Shelley McGuire, PhD. "First we all need to remember that there are really no such things as 'bad' foods. Second, observational studies that show associations between diet and health need to be considered with a proverbial grain of salt. These studies clearly provide additional and strong evidence that consumption of meat and dairy products by women does not, by itself, increase breast cancer risk. Further, moderate and mindful consumption of these foods can be very important in attaining optimal nutrition for most women who often do not consume sufficient iron and calcium."

In the first study, which was a controlled dietary intervention trial conducted in the United States, 35 obese postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes received conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplements or a control supplement (safflower oil) each for 36 wk; adiposity was assessed. In another study, researchers examined the association between CLA intake from natural sources and breast cancer incidence in a large cohort of initially cancer-free Swedish women for 17.4 y. The third study assessed whether the consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products was associated with breast cancer risk in a very large group of healthy European women followed for 8.8 y.

These studies provide no evidence that animal-food consumption increases (or decreases) risk of breast cancer, although CLA supplementation may decrease adiposity (a major risk factor for this disease). In an editorial, Linos and Willett remind us that these studies did not assess the relation between animal-food intake during early life and later breast cancer, a likely important piece of the puzzle. Nonetheless, they conclude, "These data are sufficient to exclude any major effect of consuming these foods during midlife or later on risk of breast cancer." Perhaps we finally have the answer to this long-standing question.

[harrie]

Any comments on the above article?

[AlaskaAngel]

Hi harrie,

I hope you get some responses from bigger brains than mine. My own initial impression is:

The only study involving people who eat in the USA was limited to 35 participants.

People in Europe have been and continue to be far more cautious and conscious of the importance of avoiding the various ways in which foods can be affected by the use of antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, hormones, etc. and they make up by far the majority of those documented by the studies presented.

The article itself unfortunately does not indicate the proportion of animal foods consumed in relation to the rest of the diet (i.e., whether Europeans do a better job of balancing animal food sources with other food sources or not). Maybe the details in the studies themselves offer that information.

AlaskaAngel

[suzan w]

post-anesthesia brain still wonders about artificial growth hormones in dairy...seems to me there must be some sort of a link between one animal's "dairy producers" and our won breast health??? xo Suzan

[harrie]

Good points AA.

[Jackie07]

Having been born premature, I rely on milk - first getting breast fed by my Mother, later drinking powdered milk, preserved milk, and fresh milk - just about all my life. Especially when I was having occasional digesting problems (affected by the huge tumor in the center of my brain.) I looked up the cause of iron deficiency anemia and found that one of the causes is too much milk (deprived of other nutrient from regular meals) and started to pay more attention to what I eat. Then the doctor told me to take a multivitamin every day for iron.

And yes, I was a meat-eater growing up because my teeth were not strong enough to chew many of the vegetables. I think it had something to do with my elevated cranial pressure - chewing hard made me tired easily.

When I was diagnosed in 2003, my friends brought me home-made soy milk and I was completely free from dairy product for more than a year. These days I don't particularly try to avoid milk product, but I don't try to consume too much of it, either.

My Mother became a (1/2) vegetarian after she turned 65. She ate mostly vegies and tofu with some milk and eggs being the only animal product on her menu occassionally. She lost almost 20 lbs and avoided
cardiovascular diseases. She resumed regular diet after she was diagnosed with Nonhogekins lymphoma when she's 73. She's a healthy 86-year-old lady right now with very good appetite.

I have read things by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. who points to studies that children who consume larger amounts of fruits and vegetables growing up have less cancer as adults, and of course we have all read that cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, etc.) have properties which have anticancer effects. He has argued that cancer rates, including breast cancer rates, could be diminished if we changed the eating habits of our population, particularly in childhood, when the cells (breast cells) are developing and most subject to risk. I do believe (having read quite a bit on the subject) that the industrialized food process in this country in which we consume animal products from animals that are pumped full of antibiotics and hormones is not healthy (despite the food industry telling us to drink the milk, eat the cheese, eat the meat, etc. because it is healthy). It is hard to change eating habits as an adult, but Dean Ornish's studies on prostate cancer show that low fat vegetarian diets have benefits in terms of lowering the risk of recurrence, etc. When I eat dairy products, I try to buy organic, hormone free products; while it is more expensive, I try to buy cheese from small producers who claim not to use those things (either from small producers in the US or Europe) and meat, well, same thing (try to find grass fed beef if I eat it at all, which I am even now finding I have no interest in), and if I can't, I can't quite bring myself to buy the packaged stuff in the grocery store anymore and skip it. Recently there was an article about how fish has become increasingly unhealthy, levels of mercury, etc. in all fish.

Its very hard to know what to do, it really is an individual decision, and not something doctors seem to know much of anything about. But certainly there can't be much wrong about eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and making that a greater part of one's diet.

and not to beat this issue into the ground, it is also important to know who funds these groups, the American Society for Nutrition (the study in the first post), here are their corporate sustaining members from their web site:

Abbott Laboratories, Ross Products Division
The Almond Board of California
National Cattlemen's Beef Association, The Beef Checkoff
Cadbury Schweppes
Campbell Soup Company, Global Nutrition & Health
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
The Dannon Company
DSM Nutritional Products, Inc.
Eli Lilly and Company
General Mills
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
Kellogg Company
Kraft Foods
Mars, Inc.
Martek Biosciences Corp.
McCormick Science Institute
McDonald's
McNeil Nutritionals
Mead Johnson Nutritionals
Monsanto Company
National Dairy Council
Nestle Nutrition Institute of Nestle USA
PepsiCo
Pharmanex
POM Wonderful, LLC
The Procter & Gamble Company
The Sugar Association, Inc.
Tate & Lyle
Unilever Bestfoods
Wyeth

somehow a study by a group funded by Monsanto, McDonalds and the Sugar Association does not leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling!

[Laurel]

rl2, you crack me up! Way to cut to the chance!

[mamacze]

Nutrition and cancer can be a hot topic, but I am glad you brought it up, MaryAnne! When I was diagnosed 5 1/2 years ago with mets to the liver and lungs; I fortuitously read a book by a man called Dr. Colin Campbell (professor emeritus from Cornell) A former dairy farmer himself; he spent much of his professional career sifting through hundreds of nutritional studies. At retirement he published his book called "The China Study", which summarizes his findings by disease category. It is fascinating. After reading his book; I stopped eating all meats and animal products. Interesting, rl2, he too speaks about groups who fund the nutritional research being conducted and his comments are eye opening.
Love Kim from CT