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Even if you are a nutrition-savvy woman, how often do you eat for breast health? Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. According to the CDC, breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in Hispanic women. It is the second most common cause of cancer death in white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.


Experts say that what you eat and how much you get of certain nutrients can play a large role in lessening the risk of cancer and other breast problems. Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, a cancer expert and professor of oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC says that a third of the nearly 200,000 new breast cancer cases every year in the U.S. could be prevented by dietary changes.

For the next five days log on to this site see which breast-smart food and supplement choices Hilakivi-Clarke and other experts recommend working into your everyday habits.

Day One:
In addition to getting ample servings of fruits and vegetables and whole grains in breads and cereals, eat 2 ounces of walnuts.

Just two ounces a day may keep breast cancer away suggests a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research. This study showed that mice eating the human equivalent of 2 ounces (14 walnuts) a day were much less likely to develop breast cancer, even though they were at a very high risk for the disease.


Walnuts contain healthy omega-3s, as well as antioxidants and phytosterols (another type of plant fat)—all of which have been shown to slow the growth of breast tumors. Related research shows that the same amount of walnuts in the diet can slow breast tumor growth by blocking cancer cell proliferation, which means that the breast tumors that did develop grew more slowly. Since walnuts pack a ton of fat (even though it’s the healthy kind, it’s still fat) and concentrated calories, make sure you’re substituting walnuts for other snacks and not just eating them in addition to your normal intake, as weight gain raises the risk of breast cancer.

Researcher W. Elaine Hardman, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, W.Va., credits the disease-fighting omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and in particular, phytosterols, in walnuts.

“Phytosterols bind to estrogen receptors, so they would be expected to slow growth of breast cancers,” she says. Estrogen fuels the growth of some breast tumors.

Additional research suggests that walnuts can be a healthful part of the diet for the prevention not only of breast and other cancers, but also diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for another helpful food tip to help fight breast cancer!