Women folks it’s time to shift to Mediterranean food. Scientists have found out that women whose intake is more of a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, vegetables and especially olive oil have less chances of developing breast cancer.
The oleic acid found in olive oil blocks the action of a cancer-causing oncogene called HER-2/neu which is found in about 30 per cent of breast cancer patients, scientist said.
“Our findings underpin epidemiological studies that show that the Mediterranean diet has significant protective effects against cancer, heart disease and ageing,” scientists said.
For long, doctors and researchers had been aware that eating a Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of breast cancer and other illnesses such as heart disease. But until now they did not know how.
Scientists found that oleic acid not only suppressed the action of the oncogene, it also improved the effectiveness of the breast cancer drug Herceptin - a targeted therapy made by Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG that works against the HER-2/neu gene.
Breast cancer patients with HER-2/neu positive tumors suffer from an aggressive form of the disease and have a poor prognosis.
Menendez worked with Ruth Lupu, director of the Evanston Northwestern Health Research Institute's Breast Cancer Translational Program and Ramon Colomer, head of the Medical Oncology Division at Institute Catala d' Oncologia in Girona, Spain
Breast cancer is common in northern Europe, but much less so in the south. Studies indicate that as many as 15 per cent of breast cancer cases in Britain might be avoided by shifting to a Mediterranean diet.
