Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group at Mary Free Bed

02/12/2026

02/12/2026

12/24/2025

10/12/2025

Cancer becomes deadly when it spreads. Could what we eat influence that process?

A receptor in our body called CD36 appears to help cancer cells spread. It's upregulated by palmitic acid, a type of saturated fat found in meat, dairy, and processed foods made with palm oil.

This may explain why meta-analyses and a systematic review found that saturated fat negatively impacts breast cancer survival.

📈 People with high saturated fat intake were 50% more likely to die of breast cancer.

🥛 Just one serving of high-fat dairy a day may result in a 50% increased risk of dying from breast cancer.

A similar trend is seen in prostate cancer survival: High-fat dairy intake increases the risk of dying from prostate cancer. It seems the animal fat is problematic.

The good news?

✅ Randomized trials show that when people with early-stage breast cancer lower their saturated fat intake, there is an increase in breast cancer survival.

✅ As a bonus, they experience a reduction in heart disease and diabetes, too.

See the video “How to Help Control Cancer Metastasis with Diet” at see.nf/40Aw3vK to learn more.

PMID: 26000608, 29167646, 25692500, 23818391, 28187509, 17179478, 29800122, doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz107

10/02/2025