Is fat intake related to breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women?

In the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-AARP study, the investigators found a direct relationship between consumption of all types of fat and the incidence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. This contradicts those who say that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats have a neutral or protective effect on breast cancer.

This finding was also seen in a study of postmenopausal women in Sweden. The researchers found a direct association between the risk of breast cancer and the intake of total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat. They found that a high intake of omega-6 fatty acids increased the risk of breast cancer, which is why canola oil may be a better choice than olive oil, because it has fewer of the omega-6 fatty acids and more of the protective omega-3 fatty acids.

The NIH-AARP study also found a strong association between fat intake and risk of breast cancer in women who were on menopausal hormone therapy, suggesting that dietary fat intake may have more influence on breast cancer risk in those taking estrogen. This was also seen in the Women’s Health Initiative Study, in which women who were assigned to the low-fat group and were taking estrogen showed a 17 percent reduction in breast cancer incidence compared to the control group, but this reduction was not seen in women who were not taking estrogen.

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