High folate intake reduces breast cancer risk

Folate is a vitamin that is found in many foods, including orange juice, dried beans, and vegetables. Vegetarians get at least as much folate and often more folate than do non-vegetarians. Swedish researchers examined folate's role in breast cancer. Close to 12,000 Swedish women aged 50 and older were studied for 9 1/2 years. During that time, 392 women developed breast cancer. Women who had the highest dietary intake of folate had a lower risk of developing breast cancer compared to women with the lowest folate intake. This study suggests that increased folate intake can reduce the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. These results may help to explain why women whose diets are high in meat and presumably low in vegetables and dried beans have higher rates of breast cancer. Vegetarian diets featuring plenty of vegetables and dried beans provide generous amounts of folate.

Ericson U, Sonestedt E, Gullberg B, et al. 2007. High folate intake is associated with lower breast cancer incidence in postmenopausal women in the Malmo Diet and Cancer cohort. Am J Clin Nutr 86:434-43.

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