Do Fruits and Vegetables Protect You From
Breast Cancer?
Robert Filice, M.D
In a prospective
study of 285,526 women who were between 25 and 70 years of age and were
participating in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and
Nutrition study, subjects completed dietary questionnaires in 1992-1998
and were followed-up for breast cancer incidence until 2002.
During a median follow-up of 5.4 years or 1,486,402 person-years, there
were 3,659 invasive breast cancer cases reported.
There was no significant association observed
between vegetable or fruit intake and breast cancer risk,
with a relative risk for the highest versus the lowest quintile of 0.98
for total vegetables, 1.09 for total fruit, and 1.05 for fruit and
vegetable juices. For 6 specific vegetable subgroups, there was no
association observed with breast cancer risk.
“Consumption of Vegetables and Fruits and Risk of Breast Cancer,” van
Gils CH, Peeters PHM, et al, JAMA, January 12,
2005;293(2):183-193.
Dr. Bob Commentary:
Not everything we
think we know is true. This is a very large prospective study which
failed to document any breast cancer protective
effect from increased dietary fruit and vegetables, nor from
6 specific vegetable subgroups.
Genetics, hormonal environment, stress, and metabolic factors may
not be modifiable by diet in the case of breast cancer.
That is not to say that we shouldn’t bother to eat vegetables, or that
they are not generally supportive of good health, but only that the
evidence suggests a higher fruit and veggie diet does not decrease
the incidence of breast cancer.
This study is on a par with the very large Asian study which I
previously reported in this newsletter which clearly refuted the
purported benefit of self breast examinations. Still today, most people
want to believe that breast self exam is protective. For example, I had
one very angry lady email me after I reported those findings. It
apparently was not possible for her to give up what she thought she knew
when the truth came along. Orthodox physicians in general have this same
problem.