Navigating the landscape of breast cancer prevention and management involves understanding all contributing factors, including those within your direct control.While hereditary and familial risks play a role, research confirms that lifestyle and environmental choices, specifically diet, exercise, and weight management, account for a significant portion of breast cancer diagnoses. Empowering patients with practical, science-backed strategies for nutrition is a vital step toward reducing risk and improving long-term health.In a recent webinar Bite Back! How Your Plate Can Help You Fight Breast Cancer Risk, Dr. Roshani Patel explored the complex relationship between your daily plate and your breast cancer risk profile. It moves beyond dietary fads to explain the basic science of how the body processes carbohydrates, fats, and protein, providing concrete guidelines for balancing your meals.Patel, a breast surgical oncologist, as well as medical director of the breast program at Hackensack Meridian Health’s Jersey Shore University Medical Center, shared how shifting your focus to complex carbohydrates, increasing fiber intake, and making targeted changes to your diet can be a powerful intervention in your personalized cancer prevention plan.Understanding Your Breast Cancer RiskBreast cancer risk is complex, influenced by three main categories: hereditary, familial, and lifestyle/environmental factors.Hereditary risk: This involves specific changes in DNA, such as the BRCA gene mutation, which can increase lifetime risk up to 70% to 80%, while other genetic changes may elevate risk by 20% to 40%. Hereditary risks account for approximately 5% to 10% of all breast cancers.Familial risk: This is seen in individuals with a strong family history of breast cancer, even without a known genetic mutation. This also accounts for about 5% to 10% of cancers.Lifestyle and environmental risk: This category includes factors you can directly impact, such as diet, exercise, alcohol use, and weight. These factors are believed to account for 20% to 30% of breast cancers.The Power of Your Plate: Nutrition for Risk ReductionThe food we eat plays a critical role in managing cancer risk. Consuming excessive amounts of any nutrient (fats, starches, or protein) will be stored as fat, potentially contributing to cancer risk, Patel explained. The goal is to achieve a balanced plate.“While a lot of people promote certain diet, where they’re gaining their nutrition and energy levels from fat — those do help with weight loss — the brain still needs to have some source of sugar for energy, and a lot of times, if you have a deficit of starch storage in your body, you’re going to break down protein to make that sugar,” she said in the webinar.The Balanced Plate GuidelinesThe New American Plate guidelines, from the American Institute for Cancer Research, recommend the following breakdown for a balanced meal: Overall, Patel said a properly balanced meal provides sustained ener Read More