Balanced diet linked to lower risk of death from breast cancer

A study of nearly 49,000 postmenopausal women with no previous history of breast cancer has found that dietary changes can help prevent death from the disease. For about eight years, one group of women followed a balanced diet — one that included daily servings of fruit, vegetables, and grains, and no more than 25% fat for the day  — while a control group consumed a normal diet, in which fats made up a third of daily calories.  A follow-up found that those in the balanced diet group were 21% less likely to die of their breast cancer and 15% less likely to die of any cause than those in the control group, although the balanced diet did not reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. These findings were released in an abstract ahead of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s upcoming annual meeting.