Are alcohol and fat related in breast cancer?

Yes it is. Women who consume even a few drinks a week possess an increased risk for breast cancer. Scientists still haven’t yet found out exactly why this happens. Alcohol may raise estrogen levels, an important factor in the development of breast cancer. One characteristic of a cancer cell is that it multiplies out of control and in some types of breast cancer; high circulating levels of oestrogen can make this more likely to happen.

Alcohol may also interact with carcinogens or hampers the body's ability to detoxify them. High dietary fat, long suspected to be the main culprit in breast cancer, is also associated with the disease. As amounts of fat in women’s diets increase, so dose their risk of breast cancer.

So what to do? Women at average risk for breast cancer must limit their intake of alcohol to one drink a day. Women who have had breast cancer or are at a high risk for it for other reasons have to avoid alcohol altogether.