"A fresh look at the medical evidence shows women who eat more fiber are less likely to get breast cancer.  Chinese researchers found those who ate the most of the healthy plant components were  percent less likely to develop breast cancer than women who ate the least.  Their findings dont prove fiber itself lowers cancer risk however because women who consume a lot of it might be healthier overall than those who dont.  The results can identify associations but cannot tell us what will happen if people change their behavior said John Pierce a cancer research at the University of California San Diego who was not involved in the work.  While earlier research has yielded mixed conclusions on the link between cancer and fiber it would make scientific sense According to the Chinese researchers people who eat highfiber diets have lower levels of estrogen which is a risk factor for breast tumors.  So to get more clarity the researchers combined  earlier studies that looked at womens diets and followed them over seven to  years to see who developed cancer.  Of more than  women . percent ended up with breast cancer. And those in the top fifth of fiber intake were  percent less likely to do so than women in the bottom fifth.  That was after accounting for differences in risk factors like alcohol drinking weight hormone replacement therapy and family members with the disease.  Still its impossible to rule out that big fiber eaters had healthier habits overall that would cut their risk JiaYi Dong of Soochow University in Suzhou and his colleagues write in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  And the potential effect was very small Dr. Eleni Linos of Stanford University who wasnt involved in the research told Reuters Health in an email.  About one in eight American women get breast cancer at some point with less than a quarter of them dying from it.  Although the connection between breast cancer risk and fiber is a small one fiber is something that we know is healthy for you anyway said Christina Clarke a research scientist at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California in Fremont.  Known benefits of a highfiber diet include lower cholesterol and weight loss. If it turns out to cut cancer risk as well that would be an extra bonus Clarke said.  Fruits vegetables beans and whole grains are all high in fiber.  According to the U.S. Department of Agricultures  Dietary Guidelines most Americans dont get enough fiber. The guidelines recommend that women eat  grams of fiber per day and men eat  grams while the average Americans gets just  grams a day.  Increasing dietary fiber intake in the general public is of great public health significance the Chinese team concludes.  SOURCE bit.lyqKtsU httpbit.lyqKtsU American Journal of Clinical Nutrition online July  ."