Young women with high-fibre diet may have lower breast cancer risk

ConclusionThis large and long-term cohort study showed that women with the top fifth highest average fibre intake during adolescence and early adulthood were around 25% less likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer decades later than those in the bottom fifth.This raises the suggestion that young women might be able to significantly lower their risk of breast cancer – the most common cancer in the UK – simply through eating more high-fibre foods such as fruits and vegetables.However, it’s worth noting a few points before accepting these promising results at face value. Total dietary fibre intake in adolescence alone was linked with a 16% lower breast cancer risk, but this was borderline statistically significant (p=0.04) meaning there is a 1 in 25 probability it is a chance result. The usual cut-off for saying something is statistically significant is where there is less than a 1 in 20 (p<0.05) probability it is due to chance, so it’s around the threshold. Given that previous studies of fibre intake and breast cancer have almost all been non-significant, this should raise healthy scepticism on attributing too much importance to the adolescent element of diet. The more reliable result came when fibre intake from adolescents and early adults were combined. This lead to a 25% reduction.   The study isn’t conclusive in saying that fibre is protective for breast cancer, although it shows a link in a large number of women. For example, women with higher fibr...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Food/diet Source Type: news