How fruit and alcohol impact breast cancer risk

Teens who eat fruit may be building up protection against breast cancer, but drinking alcohol later in life could aggravate the risk, say findings from two linked studies published in the BMJ.

Fruits and vegetables are important sources of fiber,vitamins, and other biologically active substances, which are thought to offer protection against breast cancer.

However, conclusive evidence is lacking, and most previous studies have focused on consumption of fruit and vegetables starting from the midlife years. By then, breast tissue may no longer be so vulnerable to carcinogenic influences.

Researchers, led by Maryam S. Farvid of the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA, wanted to investigate how eating fruits and vegetables in the teenage years could impact breast cancer risk later in life.

They used data from a study that followed 90,000 nurses over 20 years.

The nurses had reported their nutritional habits in early adulthood, and half of them had also reported their usual diet in adolescence.