14 DAY TRIAL // A recent study carried out by researchers at the Georgetown University in Washington DC, found that pregnant women who have diets rich in whole wheat reduce the risk of their future daughters of developing breast malignant tumors. The study has only been conducted on mice so far, but overall results of the research are really promising and offer a new approach on how to use natural foods in diets in order to cut breast cancer risk in women even before they are born.
Lead author of the study, Dr. Leena Hilakivi-Clarke of Georgetown University told Reuters Health that women should think about introducing whole wheat in their diets when pregnant, especially if tests show they are going to give birth to a baby-girl, as it "might be beneficial to include whole wheat in the diet when one is expecting."
Previous studies have also shown that adopting a diet rich in fibers may work against breast malignant tumors, but the current research points to a certain type of fibers - whole wheat. Therefore, it is not only important to eat high amounts of fibers when expecting, it is highly necessary to know which fibers to include in your daily servings.
The study conducted on rodents showed that only those with diets consisting of 6% whole wheat could make their daughters less likely to develop breast cancer. Mice in the trial were divided into four groups and each group took up a diet supplemented with a different type of fiber: oat flour, defatted flax flour or whole wheat flour. The fourth group was the control group, consequently received cellulose as placebo.
After starting to feed rodents on established diets, researchers gave future offsprings breast cancer by using a breast-cancer-inducing chemical. Overall results of the research showed that diets on different types of fibers had different effects on babies' likeliness of developing breast tumors. Daughters of whole-wheat-flour-fed mice mothers experienced a reduced risk of breast cancer, daughters of mice mothers in defatted flax flour experienced an increased risk of developing the fearful condition, while the oat flour diet had no effect on offsprings' risks of becoming afflicted with the disease.