Getting breast cancer is a worry that every woman has. However, breast cancer doesn’t just affect women, it strikes men as well. Breast cancer is a complicated disease that has many factors. For instance, development may depend on your lifestyle, age, family history, and/or genetics. Studies show that breast cancer risk and dietary fat intake may be linked. Women who are obese have a greater risk of developing breast cancer because extra fat cells and excess estrogen heighten the risk.

Notably, fat cells make estrogen and excess estrogen can cause hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer to develop. Symptoms of breast cancer include swelling of the breast, dimpling, nipple pain or nipple turning inward, nipple discharge and a lump in the breast or armpit. There are many different types of breast cancer like Male Breast Cancer, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, and Metastatic Breast Cancer. The main treatments are chemotherapy, radiation or a mastectomy. But surgery, hormonal therapy, and targeted therapy are also treatments for breast cancer.

As breast cancer and diets are linked, there are certain foods you should avoid if developing breast cancer is a concern:

1. Alcohol

Regular consumption of alcohol may be linked to breast cancer. Alcohol may increase your levels of estrogen and damage DNA. The more alcohol you drink the higher the risk. If you have three drinks a week you increase your risk by 15%. Every additional drink increases the risk by 10%.

2. Sugar

Sugar, no matter how much we love it, is dangerous. Too much of a good thing is bad. We all know this and yet some of us find sugar the hardest to give up. Eating a diet high in sugar can cause a variety of ailments including breast cancer. In 2016 research was done where mice were given a diet high in sugar. The mice developed mammary gland tumors that are like breast cancer in humans. These tumors have a higher chance of spreading and metastasizing.

3. Fat

While not all fats are bad some can be linked to cancer. Trans fat is fat you need to be on the lookout for. Trans fat is found in processed and premade foods. Large consumption of trans fat has been linked to a higher risk of breast cancer. You can find trans fat in fried foods, packaged cookies, and pastries.

4. Red meat

There have been studies that show a link between breast cancer and red meat. If the meat is cooked at an extremely high temperature, toxins may be released. These toxins could be what causes breast cancer. Processed meats and cold cuts could also be linked to breast cancer. These meats are high in fat, salt, and preservatives which may increase in developing breast cancer. Beef, pork, and lamb are types of red meat.

5. Processed foods

Processed foods can be dangerous if your diet contains too many. They have been linked to many different cancers, including breast cancer. These foods are dangerous because they are easy to get. For most people, processed foods are more accessible than fresh foods. The food is easy to make or it doesn’t require cooking at all. So for most people processed food comprises most of their diet. Processed foods are high in trans fat, which is linked to breast cancer. So the more you eat of it, the higher your risk for breast cancer.