Instead of snacking on junk food, researchers recommend that adolescent girls eat nuts or peanut butter to help protect them from breast issues later on in life.
According to Medical News Today, girls between ages nine and 15 may lower their risk of developing benign breast issues by consume nuts and peanut butter.
Dr. Graham Colditz of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and his colleagues analyzed data on more than 9,000 school girls in a previous The Growing Up Today Study from 1996 to 2001. The participants were followed up from 2005 to 2010 when they were already between 18 to 30 years old.
Researchers found that those who ate nuts and peanut butter twice a week during their adolescence were 39 percent less likely to develop benign breast disease as compared with those who rarely or never ate them.
Other kinds of food which have the same positive effect include soy, beans, lentils, and corn. It is recommended for girls who have a family history of breast cancer to consume more of these to avoid lumps and cysts, which may later on lead to the disease.
(Photo by Denise Krebs via Flickr Creative Commons)
