Why lifestyle & diet may hold keys to reducing risk of breast cancer

Lifestyle choices and dietary factors could be quietly shaping the risk spectrum for breast cancer, one of the largest global studies to have been done on the subject indicates. For Indian doctors, the findings are a vindication of what they have been telling their parents — that small decisions one takes in daily life can make a big difference in disease threat assessment.
“Modern diets are dominated by processed carbs, high-GI (glycemic index) foods and too much red meat,” says Dr Mandeep Singh Malhotra, director of surgical oncology at CK Birla Hospital, Delhi. “These stimulate insulin and insulin-like growth factor pathways that promote cell proliferation and may contribute to cancer development.”