Maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet has been linked to a number of improved health benefits for years. But for an overwhelming majority of women, their health care providers may be unknowingly keeping them in the dark regarding the importance of a healthy diet and breast cancer prevention.<\/p>\n
According to a recent survey<\/a> conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Morning Consult, just 19% of women say a health care provider has discussed the role that nutrition potentially plays in reducing the risk of breast cancer. While low, that figure represents a 3% increase from 2024, hinting at a slightly more positive trend.<\/p>\n As noted in a news release<\/a> from PCRM, the survey was completed by over 2,000 women who participated in a nationwide online poll. The women surveyed were all aged 18 and older and represented many various demographic groups.<\/p>\n Dr. Kristi Funk, a surgical breast specialist at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, noted the biggest takeaway from the survey.<\/p>\n “It’s clear that most women are still unaware of the lifesaving message that what they eat and drink is directly correlated to their chances of developing breast cancer,” Funk said<\/a>.<\/p>\n The American Cancer Society has suggested<\/a> that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables may be the most effective food-based measure to potentially lower breast cancer risk. On the flipside, limiting the consumption of processed meats, red meats, and other unhealthy fats can also be beneficial.<\/p>\n Plant-based foods<\/a> provide fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, anti-carcinogenic nutrients<\/a>, and bioactive substances that may help protect the body from cancer. Focusing on a healthy weight through diet can also be a key preventive factor. While no single food or supplement can completely stop the possibility of cancer, adopting a predominantly plant-based diet can significantly contribute to improved well-being.<\/p>\n Stephanie McBurnett, a registered dietitian with the Physicians Committee, explained that misinformation can be an unfortunate enemy in nutrition.<\/p>\n “Disappointingly, the women who said they have discussed nutrition’s role in breast cancer prevention with their health care provider were slightly more likely to inaccurately believe that dairy reduces risk\u201416% in 2025, up from 9% in 2024,” McBurnett said<\/a>. “This highlights the growing need for clearer messaging from providers.”<\/p>\n However, those who have access to accurate nutritional information have shown signs of being more proactive with their overall healthcare plan.<\/p>\n “On a more positive note, the individuals most likely to say beans help reduce risk were those that have discussed nutrition as a potentially preventive measure with their health care provider,” added McBurnett. “That’s an encouraging trend.”<\/p>\n Join our free newsletter<\/a> for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don’t miss this cool list<\/a> of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet has been linked to a number of improved health benefits for years.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[11026,49,48,7714,20840,84,28116,72497,392,9475,72501,72500,72499,72498],"class_list":{"0":"post-133201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-breast-cancer","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-cancer","12":"tag-cancer-prevention","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-health-care-provider","15":"tag-health-care-providers","16":"tag-healthcare","17":"tag-healthy-diet","18":"tag-improved-health-benefits","19":"tag-kristi-funk","20":"tag-nutritious-diet","21":"tag-physicians-committee-for-responsible-medicine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}