- Scientists completed a study with mice to look at the impact of fast food on girls
- Unhealthy foods contain proteins that caused abnormal mammary cells in rodents
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Teenage girls’ preference for hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes can sow breast seeds cancer Late in life.
A diet high in sugar, carbohydrates, and processed meats and foods is known to increase inflammation levels in the body, increasing the risk of cancer and heart disease.
Now, a study has shown that it can be particularly harmful for teenage girls to follow such a diet when they are going through puberty and their breasts are developing.
Scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina found that fast and junk food contains high concentrations of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which can cause breast changes similar to those seen in breast cancer patients, such as an increase of breast density.
Each year, more than 264,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. It is the most common cancer among women in the United States, with more than 43,000 deaths from the condition annually.
Adolescence is when the greatest breast growth occurs. Dr. Steven Quay, a Seattle-based physician-scientist who was not involved in the study, said that “environmental attacks during that vulnerable time can lead to changes that will take decades to complete.”
The study on rodents, published in the journal Breast cancer researchIn , scientists were seen producing AGE products by cooking glucose-based rodent food at 248 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius) for 15 minutes.
This stimulated the formation of a broad spectrum of AGEs normally found in fried or grilled foods.
AGEs are harmful compounds that form when proteins or fats combine with sugar in the bloodstream.
Mice undergoing puberty were divided into three groups: a control group fed a normal mouse diet, a group fed a low-AGE diet, and a group fed a high-AGE diet.
Regarding the effect on breast structure in mice, the high AGE diet caused changes in breast tissue, which are similar to those seen in patients with very early stage breast cancer.
This included a change that, in humans, is seen through increased breast density.
In humans, increased breast density can only be identified by mammography.
Only mice on a high-AGE diet produced abnormal mammary cells.
Scientists still aren’t entirely sure why dense breast tissue is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.
Dense breast tissue is thought to have more cells that have the potential to become abnormal cells, and in women, abnormal breast cells increase the risk of breast cancer.
The study does not prove a causal link between foods high in AGEs and breast cancer, but it does show that eating a lot of processed fast food can increase the likelihood of developing dense breast tissue, which increases the future risk of breast cancer.
Dr Quay called for guidelines to be developed to recommend a diet low in the consumption of processed foods for adolescent girls in order to reduce the risk of breast cancer in the future.
There are many other reasons why someone may be diagnosed with breast cancer, including genetic factors.
Men can also get breast cancer, although the research did not look at diets for older people or the risk of breast cancer in men.
Each year, more than 264,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. It is the most common cancer among women in the United States, and more than 43,000 people die from the condition annually.
