London - Breast cancer survivors may be able to help keep the disease away by eating nothing for at least 13 hours every night, research suggests.
A study of more than 2 400 women with early-stage breast cancer says those who did not fast for 13 hours were at 36 percent higher risk of their illness recurring.
The research looked at patients’ survival rates after breast cancer was diagnosed.
More than 800 of them fasted for more than 13 hours while roughly 1 600 of them avoided eating anything for shorter periods overnight.
The women in the study ranged in age from 27 to 70 when they were diagnosed with the disease, with an average age of 52.4. Patients with diabetes were excluded.
The researchers checked whether and when the cancer returned or new primary breast tumours developed.
They found that patients with who fasted on average for less time than those who managed 13 hours or more overnight had a 36 percent greater risk of their cancer coming back.
They also found some evidence that the patients who did not manage to hold off eating for more than 13 hours had a higher risk of dying from any cause. The study suggests that while traditionally the focus has been on breast cancer patients maintaining a healthy diet, more research is needed into how much and when sufferers eat.
The team behind the research stressed that they could not say why fasting influenced breast cancer risk. But their work, published in JAMA Oncology, found that with every extra two hours of fasting, women’s average blood sugar reduced and their sleeping hours increased.
Previous studies have suggested that higher blood sugar levels and poor sleeping habits are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.
And experiments with mice found prolonged fasting during sleep can protect those fed a high-fat diet against abnormal glucose metabolism, inflammation and weight gain, all of which are linked to higher cancer risk.
Study author Professor Ruth Patterson, of the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Centre, stressed that the researchers were viewing the statistics cautiously.
She said more research on the subject would be needed before she would advise women cancer patients that fasting would prevent their cancer recurring.
But she added: “If future trials confirm that habitual prolonged nightly fasting improves metabolic health, this would be an important discovery in prevention that could reduce the risk of cancers, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.”
Daily Mail