This diet reduces the risk of breast cancer by 68 percent, study says

Today women in the United States have a one in eight chance of developing breast cancer, but new research has revealed a specific diet could reduce a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer by 68 percent.

The study, conducted in Spain and recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil could be a game changer in reducing a woman’s risk for breast cancer. The Mediterranean diet consists primarily of plants (fruit and vegetables), fish, nuts and olive oil.

The study took place between 2003 and 2009 and used 4,282 women, all of whom were between the ages of 60 and 80. The women were randomly assigned one of three diets: a mediterranean diet with a supplement of nuts, a mediterranean diet with a supplement of extra virgin olive oil, and a low fat diet.

“The authors report that women eating a Mediterranean diet supplemented with EVOO showed a 68 percent relatively lower risk of malignant breast cancer than those allocated to the control diet,” the JAMA wrote. “Women eating a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts showed a nonsignificant risk reduction compared with women in the control group.”

Read the entire report from the JAMA.

Matt Lee is a Web producer for Metro New York. He writes about almost everything and anything. Talk to him (or yell at him) on Twitter so he doesn’t feel lonely@mattlee2669.