Physical Wellness

Breast Cancer Prevention: Fruits Can Lower Risk Among Teenagers

By Brian McNeill | Update Date: May 13, 2016 06:00 AM EDT

There is no telling if and when a woman would eventually encounter an unavoidable episode of breast cancer for now though there are measures to avoid them. Surprisingly, one easy way is to turn to fruits which is technically what health buffs would normally turn to as far as watching their weight.

Though eating fruits is a no-brainer for some, a new study suggests that eating large amounts of fruits will lower their risk from breast cancer. Apples, bananas and grapes were found to be strongly linked to a drop in breast cancer risk among adolescent women.

The study singles out that consuming the fruits in mention at three daily servings dramatically downs the chances of breast cancer risk compared to the one who eat them at just half-a-serving daily. Oranges are seen to offer the same when eaten. Fruit juices are not counted nor seen as something that would render the same benefit.

"This is the first study that specifically shows that high fruit intake during adolescence may be linked with reduced breast cancer risk," said study author Maryam Farvid, a research associate in the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

The study was done using food questionnaires completed in 1991 involving 90,000 women aged 27 to 44. Most of the participants enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II two years earlier with the study focusing on diets made during early adulthood.

A second food survey was made in 1998 involving 44,000 women, asking women to recall the food they had consumed during adolescence. Food and drink consumption was tallied once every four years where breast cancer status was also tracked every two years.

Following the years of tracking, researchers would later on conclude that higher fruit intake during adolescence accounted for lower breast cancer risk. The study was published last May 11 in the BMJ.

Despite the findings, the University of Oxford cautioned that more evidence is needed before perfectly concluding that fruit intake is truly protective.

"Parents could do a great job in providing plenty of fruits and vegetables at home, and encouraging teens to adopt healthy eating habits," said Farvid.

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