Top breast cancer expert reveals only dietary changes that protect against breast cancer… as disease continues to rise under 50s

It is the most common form of cancer in Britain – and the number of cases is rising at an alarming rate.

According to Cancer Research UK, the number of breast cancer diagnoses has increased by more than a quarter since the 1990s.

More worryingly, the incidence of the fatal disease in apparently healthy under-50s has risen by a tenth in the past two decades.

As a former breast surgeon who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 40, I’m often asked about the reason behind this trend – and what the public can do to prevent premature disease.

The truth is that diet is only a very small risk factor when it comes to cancer. Most people with breast cancer have simply suffered a period of very bad luck.

That said, there is one change that has been proven to prevent the disease. It’s a simple lifestyle change and it can reduce your risk of breast cancer by up to 60 percent.

I’m talking about reducing your alcohol consumption – or even quitting drinking altogether.

It is estimated that around one in 10 cases of breast cancer is linked to alcohol, according to a report published last year in the prestigious journal Lancet. That is more than 4,000 patients per year.

There are two reasons why drinking can increase the risk of breast cancer.

First, liquor breaks down in the body into a chemical called acetaldehyde, which is known to prevent cells from repairing the damage to your DNA that can cause tumor development.

It also increases the amount of hormones in our bodies, such as estrogen and insulin, which can cause cells in breast tissue to divide more frequently, increasing the chance of a cancer-causing mutation.

The more you drink, the greater the risk.

If you drink an average of two glasses of wine per day over ten years – the equivalent of one medium glass of wine – your risk increases by 13 percent.

Another way to illustrate this risk is this: 24 in 1,000 people over the age of fifty will develop breast cancer.

But if they all if they drank two units a day, three more women would develop the disease.

If you drink six units a day, your risk increases by 60 percent.

Some scientists have attributed the rise of breast cancer to the increasingly drunken nature of British women.

According to recent data collected by the World Health Organization, the number of women drinking heavily increased by 57 percent between 2016 and 2019.

In 2016, 13.8 percent of women in the general population reported heavy occasional alcohol use – and this had risen to 21.7 percent in 2019.

According to estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), alcohol consumption alone was responsible for almost 40,000 new cases of breast cancer across Europe in 2020.

But what about the plethora of claims you’ve probably read about cancer and diet, suggesting that juice cleanses and avoiding dairy will stop the disease?

Well, I’m afraid to say that most of this is fake.

However, there are some dietary recommendations I would give to women who want to reduce their risk of the disease.

It’s basically the same advice I would give to anyone looking to improve their overall health.

First of all, the obvious: eat enough fruit and vegetables.

There is no one wonderful fruit or vegetable that can prevent breast cancer, but studies show that those who eat a wider variety of them are less likely to develop the disease.

For example, a 2019 study found that consuming more than five and a half servings of fruits and vegetables per day was associated with an 11 percent lower risk of breast cancer.

This was compared with the risk for women who consumed 2.5 portions or less.

Scientists don’t know exactly what the reason for this connection is, but it may be due to the protective effect of antioxidants, essential amino acids and phytoestrogens found in fruits and vegetables.

It’s also worth increasing your consumption of fiber – a nutrient in plant foods such as bread, cereals and vegetables that is not fully digested by the intestines.

Fiber helps both aid the digestion process, move waste through the intestines and feed the trillions of healthy bacteria in the intestines.

Brown rice, oats, whole wheat couscous and quinoa are all great examples.

But if you eat white potatoes and white bread, you’re probably not getting enough of this essential nutrient.

There is some evidence that fiber may reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence, possibly due to the role of the microbiome, but further research is needed to find out more.

Finally, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have the time to cook everything in your diet from scratch. Preparing food takes time, energy and money.

Try to eat as healthy as possible for most of the week and try to prepare 80 percent of your meals from scratch.

Half of your plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables, with a good source of protein.

If you do that, occasionally indulging in packaged foods, pastries, pizzas and chips will not harm you.

If you want a bar of chocolate or a burger every now and then, this is no problem. There is nothing you need to avoid as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

If you want a bar of chocolate or a burger every now and then, this is no problem. There is nothing you need to avoid as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

A Lancet study last year, which surveyed more than a quarter of a million adults in Europe, found that those who ate the most ultra-processed foods (UPFs) were 10 percent more likely to develop cancer during their lifetime.

That brings a woman’s lifetime risk (if she lives until age 80) from 40 to 44 percent.

But this risk only increased with animal products and things like artificially sweetened drinks and bread.

Plant-based UPFs such as falafels, vegetable spreads and vegan burgers had little impact.

So far, there is evidence that you need to eat large amounts of UPFs per week to affect your risk.

• ‘The Cancer Roadmap: Real Science to Guide Your Treatment Journey’ by Dr Liz O’Riordan will be released on January 30, 2025