Overnight Fasting May Reduce the Risk of Breast Cancer in Women

Overnight fasting may actually reduce the risk of breast cancer among women. Scientists have found that reducing the amount of time spent eating could help individuals who are more prone to breast cancer.

"Increasing the duration of overnight fasting could be a novel strategy to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer," said Catherien Marinac, first author of the new paper, in a news release. "This is a simple dietary change that we believe most women can understand and adopt. It may have a big impact on public health without requiring complicated counting of calories or nutrients."

Women in the study reported eating five times per day with a mean nighttime fasting of 12 hours. Those who reported longer fast durations also indicated that they consumed fewer calories per day, ate fewer calories after 10 p.m. and had fewer eating episodes.

In the end, the researchers found that women who fasted for longer periods of time overnight had significantly better control over blood glucose concentrations. The data shows that each three hour increase in nighttime fasting was associated with a four percent lower postprandial glucose level, regardless of how much women ate.

"The dietary advice for cancer prevention usually focuses on limiting consumption of red meat, alcohol and refined grains while increasing plant-based foods," said Ruth, Patterson, co-author of the new study. "New evidence suggests that when and how often people eat can also play a role in cancer risk."

The findings are published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

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