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Eating More Fiber As Teen May Reduce Risk Of Breast Cancer

BOSTON (CBS) – According to a new study, what you eat as a teen could affect your chances of getting breast cancer.

Dr. Walter Willett and colleagues at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health looked at the diets of about 40,000 women and found that those who ate the most fiber as teens and young adults had a lower risk of breast cancer, especially before menopause.

"That's pretty important," Willett said. "Because we haven't seen much else until recently that we can do about reducing the risk of breast cancer especially during the pre-menopausal years.

Dr. Walter Willett
Dr. Walter Willett. (WBZ-TV)

Willett says to reap the benefits of fiber, you don't need to count grams but focus more on incorporating more fiber rich foods into your diet.

"If we have five servings of fruits and vegetables a day and ideally all of our grains as whole grains and not refined grains," says Willett. "That will easily get us over the 25 of 30 grams of fiber daily that are recommended."

Willett adds that this is one of the first studies to show that what we feed our children will affect their cancer risk in the future, an important message not only for parents but also for schools which Willett says need to do a better job of providing fruits and vegetables and whole grains to students.

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