Restricting calories just two days in a week can help to lower blood levels of hormones known to be responsible for causing breast cancer. A study carried out at the Wythenshawe Hospital found that overweight women put on a restrictive diet on two days of the week, saw a 40% reduction in breast cancer risk. The fact that the participants of the study also experienced weight loss of about 13 pounds on an average, was just a plus.
In the study, 100 women were put on a diet that required them to have only 650 calories on two days of the week, with a 1,500 calorie diet prescribed for the rest of the week. 6 months of this diet meant that women experienced a 40% drop in the hormone leptin.
Also their insulin levels were down 25% and the inflammatory protein count was down 15%. Each of these three factors are known to contribute to breast cancer risk.
This new diet could literally be a ‘life saver’ for women who found it difficult to stick to a diet for a week says Dr Michelle Harvie of the Wythenshawe Hospital.
Study participant and researcher Gillian Haddock who was considered to be at high risk of breast cancer lost 12 pounds and also lowered her breast cancer risk.
