Dietary Choices During Pregnancy Can Reduce Daughter's Breast Cancer Risk
Posted Jul 30 2010 7:15am
Human population-based studies have suggested that dietary habits of mother's can effect their daughter's breast cancer risk. Studies of Asian women who migrated to the United States in particular have suggested that breast cancer risk of daughters and granddaughters were higher in those whose mothers adopted a Western diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Dietary changes responsible for this increased breast cancer risk is an active area of research.
One dietary change that has been reported to impact breast cancer risk in daughter's is the consumption of different dietary oils or fats during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Animal studies have suggested that consumption of olive oil or fish oil during pregnancy reduces breast cancer incidence in daughters compared to consumption of corn oil. A new breast cancer research study (free to read online) examined the potential benefits of canola oil on breast cancer risk reduction. For this breast cancer research study, investigators fed mice either a diet containing 10% corn oil or 10% canola oil throughout their pregnancy and breastfeeding. Breast cancer burden in the daughters was determined by examining differences in breast cancer incidence, breast cancer growth, number of breast cancer tumors, and more. The study investigators reported that
The number of breast cancer tumors was lower at both 130 and 170 days of age in daughters whose mothers consumed canola compared to mice whose mothers consumed corn oil.
Breast cancer growth was modestly slower in the canola oil group compared to the corn oil group.
The canola oil group had substantially lower breast cancer tumor weight compared to the corn oil group at 170 days of age.
Overall, the results of this new breast cancer study suggests that dietary consumption of canola oil (compared to corn oil) during pregnancy and breastfeeding delayed the development of breast cancer, slowed breast cancer tumor growth, and reduced overall breast cancer burden in mouse daughters. These are interesting results that continue to build upon earlier studies suggesting that maternal dietary habits during pregnancy and breastfeeding can have a real impact on daughters' breast cancer risk.
While vegetable oils are good sources of the healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (compared to the saturated fatty acids found in animal fats), different oils have different fatty acid compositions. For example, olive oil is rich in omega-9 fatty acids, while corn oil is rich in omega-6 fatty acids and fish oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. The balance of these oils appears to have an impact on human health. Diets that have an imbalanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids have been reported to increase our risk for various chronic health conditions. Unfortunately, the average Western diet has 10 to 30 times more omega-6 than omega-3 fatty acids. The optimum ratio has been reported to be 4 parts (or lower) omega-6 to 1 part omega-3 fatty acids. The oil used in this study, canola oil, has been shown to have a beneficial ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, which might explain the breast cancer fighting benefits observed in this study.
Making a change in the oils we choose to consume is an easy way to start developing healthier eating habits and reduce our risk for breast cancer and other conditions. To learn about other easy dietary changes we can all make to reduce our personal risk of breast cancer, read my book Fight Now: Eat & Live Proactively Against Breast Cancer .
One dietary change that has been reported to impact breast cancer risk in daughter's is the consumption of different dietary oils or fats during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Animal studies have suggested that consumption of olive oil or fish oil during pregnancy reduces breast cancer incidence in daughters compared to consumption of corn oil. A new breast cancer research study (free to read online) examined the potential benefits of canola oil on breast cancer risk reduction. For this breast cancer research study, investigators fed mice either a diet containing 10% corn oil or 10% canola oil throughout their pregnancy and breastfeeding. Breast cancer burden in the daughters was determined by examining differences in breast cancer incidence, breast cancer growth, number of breast cancer tumors, and more. The study investigators reported that
- The number of breast cancer tumors was lower at both 130 and 170 days of age in daughters whose mothers consumed canola compared to mice whose mothers consumed corn oil.
- Breast cancer growth was modestly slower in the canola oil group compared to the corn oil group.
- The canola oil group had substantially lower breast cancer tumor weight compared to the corn oil group at 170 days of age.
Overall, the results of this new breast cancer study suggests that dietary consumption of canola oil (compared to corn oil) during pregnancy and breastfeeding delayed the development of breast cancer, slowed breast cancer tumor growth, and reduced overall breast cancer burden in mouse daughters. These are interesting results that continue to build upon earlier studies suggesting that maternal dietary habits during pregnancy and breastfeeding can have a real impact on daughters' breast cancer risk.While vegetable oils are good sources of the healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (compared to the saturated fatty acids found in animal fats), different oils have different fatty acid compositions. For example, olive oil is rich in omega-9 fatty acids, while corn oil is rich in omega-6 fatty acids and fish oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. The balance of these oils appears to have an impact on human health. Diets that have an imbalanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids have been reported to increase our risk for various chronic health conditions. Unfortunately, the average Western diet has 10 to 30 times more omega-6 than omega-3 fatty acids. The optimum ratio has been reported to be 4 parts (or lower) omega-6 to 1 part omega-3 fatty acids. The oil used in this study, canola oil, has been shown to have a beneficial ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, which might explain the breast cancer fighting benefits observed in this study.
Making a change in the oils we choose to consume is an easy way to start developing healthier eating habits and reduce our risk for breast cancer and other conditions. To learn about other easy dietary changes we can all make to reduce our personal risk of breast cancer, read my book Fight Now: Eat & Live Proactively Against Breast Cancer .