Low-Fat Diet May Help Prolong The Life Of Breast Cancer Survivors

Oftentimes, what we eat can have a direct effect on our health, along with any pre-existing medical conditions. Now, recent findings reveal that a low-fat diet can help reduce the risk of early death in close to two-thirds of breast cancer patients.

Researchers discovered that patients with estrogen receptor negative breast cancer (ER-negative) seemed to benefit the most from low-fat diets, according to Health Day. 

For the study, they examined more than 2,400 women between the ages of 48 and 79-1,600 of whom had ER positive breast cancer. About 800 women had either ER-negative or PR-negative cancer and had been treated between 1994 and 2001.

Half of the participants were told to follow a low-fat diet. They were also provided with health counselors to help them stay on track of their daily fat intake and guide them to healthier choices. Control groups were not given any nutrition counseling and were not required to follow a low-fat diet.

Findings showed that breast cancer patients had a 36 percent reduced risk of death over the span of 15 years if they kept to a low-fat diet for five years after their diagnosis. Furthermore, those required to follow low-fat diets also lost an average of six pounds.

Lastly, researchers found that those who did not follow the diet had a death rate of 17 percent while those following the diet had a death rate of 14 percent.

However, they noted that the reduction is not significant enough to say that this diet option may be right for all patients, according to MedPage Today. 

More information regarding the findings were presented Friday at a breast cancer meeting in San Antonio.

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