People sometimes ask about certain foods – such as lunch meat, cheese, sugar and fat. While it’s good to be concerned about nutrition, the truth is that specific foods aren’t generally a primary cause of breast cancer.
Still, there are studies that suggest that these foods might increase your risks:
Dairy products. It’s unclear if eating dairy products can increase your chance of breast cancer. Some studies show increased breast cancer risk from drinking milk that includes traces of growth hormones or eating high-fat dairy products like cheese. But other studies show that the calcium and vitamin D in milk products lower cancer risk.
Processed meats. Some studies show that eating a lot of processed meats like sausage, bacon and ham increases the relative risks of getting breast cancer.
Of course, eating an occasional cheese and bologna sandwich probably won’t increase your risks too much – assuming that your diet is generally healthy.
If you’re not eating a balanced diet, it’s important to take time to improve your nutrition. Unhealthy eating can increase your chance of breast cancer in another way – being overweight is one of the top risk factors for breast cancer.