By David Liu and editing by Aimee Keenan-Greene

Friday, Sept 2, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study suggests women who have sufficient intake of methyl dietary nutrients, otherwise known as lipotropes, during pregnancy and lactation may reduce the risk of breast cancer in their daughters.

The study by Kyongshin Cho of North Dakota University showed female rats whose mothers had perinatal and postnatal exposure to lipotropes or methyl nutrients were less likely to develop breast cancer after their exposure to a carcinogen called nitrosomethylurea.

Methyl nutrients include methionine, choline, folate, and vitamin B12, which are involved in one-carbon metabolism.

Dr. Cho reported in his dissertation abstract that epidemiological and animal studies have associated maternal folate intake during pregnancy with lower risk of breast cancer in offspring.  Low material exposure to lipotropes are linked to elevated risk of breast cancer in offspring.

Specifically the author demonstrated that material lipotrope supplements reduced cancer incidence, tumor volume and tumor number, and increased survival rate and tumor latency in female rat offspring.

In cultured human breast cancer cells, these methyl dietary supplements inhibited cancer cell growth and enhanced the inhibition of cancer cell growth after treatment with chemotherapy drugs doxorubicin and SAHA.

Breast cancer is diagnosed in about 175,000 women each year in the United States.  The disease kills about 50,000 each year according to the National Cancer Institute.