Very low-calorie diets typically get a bad rap. And for good reason. They are hard to stick to for an extended period of time, they lower metabolism and have been known to decrease muscle mass. Those that come off a very low-calorie diet often gain more weight than before due to their lowered metabolism. But, with all the negatives of this extreme diet, there is one very big positive.
A study conducted by the Breakthrough breast Cancer research Unit at the University of Manchester observed that woman who followed a diet of only 900 calories a day had reduced expression of a cancer growth gene and changes in blood biomarkers for breast cancer. If these observations can be shown in a larger scale study, this diet could help woman at a high risk for breast cancer reduce their likelihood of developing this disease.
“We already know that the more weight a woman gains over the course of her adult life, the higher her risk of developing breast cancer will be after she has gone through the menopause,” said Dr Alexis Willett, Head of Policy at the UK charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, “However, it is important to find out more about how lifestyle changes like losing weight can affect breast cancer risk.”
“We wouldn’t advise women to follow a diet of this kind as those who took part were closely monitored by a specialist dietician. We recommend that women maintain a healthy weight to reduce their breast cancer risk,” added Willett.
Like Dr. Willet mentioned, one doesn’t need to go to extremes to maintain a healthy weight. An initial reduction of 15 – 20% of your daily caloric intake is the recommended amount for healthy weight loss. And with exercise you can burn even more calories to help lose weight and keep it off.
The benefits of healthy eating and a reasonable caloric intake are ever growing and now research may have just given us another reason to make these a permanent staple in our lifestyle.
Sources cited:
Cancer Prevention Research
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