By David Liu, Ph.D.

A new meta-analysis conducted by Chinese researchers suggests eating fibrous plant foods may help reduce the risk of breast cancer.

The study released in the Sept 2011  issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found those who ate highest amounts of dietary fiber were overall 11 percent less likely to develop breast cancer.

The study did not prove that eating fiber was the cause for the reduced risk of breast cancer even though it is possible that high fiber intake may indeed help prevent the disease. 

Studies have associated eating processed meat with increased risk of breast cancer.  High intake of fiber could mean low intake of meat.  So it's uncertain whether low meat intake or high intake of fiber or both may have a preventative effect.

For the study, J.Y. Dong and colleagues of Soochow University in Suzhou China analyzed data on fiber intake and breast cancer cases  in 10 prospective cohort studies of 712,000 participants with 6,800 diagnosed with the disease.

Specifically, the researchers found each 10-gram increase in fiber intake was associated with 7 percent reduction in the breast cancer risk.