By David Liu, PHD

Wednesday April 24, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study released in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that eating dietary fiber, which is found high in green leafy vegetables and also available as a form of dietary supplements, may help reduce the risk of breast cancer in both pre- and post-menopausal women.

Pietro Ferrari from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France  and colleagues conducted the study and found those in the highest intake of dietary fiber, particularly fiber from vegetables, were at a up to 10% reduced risk for breast cancer compared with those in the lowest intake.

The study was intended to examine the association between total dietary intake of fiber from different sources including vegetables, fruit, cereals and legumes and the risk for breast cancer.

Data used for this study came from 11,576 patients with invasive breast cancer and about 220,000 women aged 35 to 70 years who were enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Those in the highest quintile of dietary fiber intake were 5% less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, compared with those in the lowest quintile of intake and for dietary fiber from vegetables the reduction in the risk would be 10%,  indicating that dietary fiber consumption may reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Fibers from fruit, cereals or legumes were not associated with the risk for breast cancer.

Vegetable fiber consumption was seemingly more effective in reducing the estrogen receptor negative (ER-/PR-) (highest intake led to a 26% reduction in the risk) and progesterone receptor negative tumors than ER +/PR+ tumors (highest intake led to an 8% drop in the risk).

The researchers concluded "Diets rich in dietary fiber and, particularly, fiber from vegetables may be associated with a small reduction in risk of BC, independently of menopausal status."

Breast cancer in most cases is preventable.  But as many as 230,000 women are diagnosed with this disease every year in the United States and the disease and its complications kill about 37,000 patients annually in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute.