Pre-menopausal women who consume large amounts of fibre could reduce their risk of developing breast cancer, a study finds.

University of Leeds researchers studied the eating habits and health of more than 35,000 women over a seven-year period.

They found women who ate 30g of fibre a day reduced their risk of breast cancer by around 50 per cent compared with those who consumed less than 20g.

According to Government statistics, the average person in Britain eats just 12g of fibre a day.

High levels of fibre can be found in foods such as wholemeal bread, wholegrain cereal, pasta, bananas, apples, broccoli and carrots.

Lead researcher Professor Janet Cade said: "Previous research hasn't shown a convincing link between increased dietary fibre and a lower risk of breast cancer.

"But earlier studies didn't draw any distinction between pre- and post-menopausal women.

"Our study found no protective effect in the older group, but significant evidence of a link in the pre-menopausal women."

Professor Janet Cade, Leeds University: "It goes along with the general healthy eating advice to make sure that you are getting plenty of fibre in your diet through breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, fruit and vegetables."

Over the course of the study, 257 pre-menopausal women developed breast cancer.

These were shown to be women who had a greater percentage of energy derived from protein, and lower intakes of dietary fibre and vitamin C, compared to women who did not develop cancer.

The research, which is published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, suggests several possible reasons for this effect.

• High fibre foods are rich in vitamins, zinc and other micro-nutrients which have protective anti-oxidant properties.
• Fibre can smooth out the peaks and troughs in insulin levels in the body. High levels of insulin may be one possible cause of cancer.
• There is a known link between breast cancer and the female hormone oestrogen, and dietary fibre has been demonstrated to regulate oestrogen levels in the body. This effect would be especially relevant to the pre-menopausal group who naturally have far higher levels of the hormone.

Prof Cade added: "It goes along with the general healthy eating advice to make sure that you are getting plenty of fibre in your diet through breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, fruit and vegetables."

Research conducted by Imaginis shows that breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women (after lung cancer) worldwide and is the most common type of cancer found among women in the world.

According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), around 1.5 million people worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006.

Earlier detection and better treatments have improved mortality rates in recent years.

The majority of breast cancers will be treated with surgery to remove the tumour.

The article Fibre reduces breast cancer risk originally appeared on 999 Today