While no one can guarantee a healthy lifestyle can reduce your chances of developing breast cancer, it has been shown to reduce the risk of developing other life-threatening cancers and diseases, points out Barb Miller, community development director of the American Cancer Society's Central Indiana Division. Here's the evidence that has been linked to lifestyle factors and breast cancer risks. Alcohol Women who have one alcoholic drink a day have a very small increase in the risk of developing breast cancer when compared with nondrinkers. So limiting your alcohol intake might reduce your risk. About 37 percent of the calories in the average American woman's diet is made up of fat calories, as compared to 10 to 20 percent in the diets of Japanese and Chinese women.
American women are four to seven times more likely than Asian women to die of breast cancer.
Researchers have pointed out that breast cancer is an estrogen-dependent cancer, and fat tissue can change some other hormones into estrogen. Having more fat tissue can increase a woman's estrogen levels, and increase her likelihood of developing breast cancer. However, many scientists note that other factors might influence breast cancer risk when comparing women in different countries, such as activity level, intake of other nutrients and genetic factors. Still, there are numerous advantages to following a healthy, low-fat diet, and lowered breast cancer risk might be one of them. Scientists still are researching this area to confirm the findings.