The Nutritional Use of Thai Medicinal Plants and the Etiology of Breast Cancer in Thai Women.

Abstract

This study represents a novel and unique approach to the study of breast cancer in developing countries by examining breast cancer risk through an evaluation of the nutritional use of traditional medicinal plants within the context of the Paleolithic diet. To achieve this goal, anthropological and epidemiological data were collected in order to ascertain the risk factors associated with the increasing incidence of breast cancer in Thailand.

The major findings of this dissertation are as follows: (1) a later age at menarche among Thai women, rather than protecting against breast cancer (the pattern typically found in Western populations), produces an increased risk due to the prolongation of the adolescent growth period and a greater exposure to the action of growth-promoting hormones; (2) central fat distribution is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among Thai women, even in the absence of anthropometric markers associated with the threshold for obesity; (3) adherence to the nutritional use of traditional medicinal plants among Thai women contributes to a protective effect against breast cancer, in that consuming higher rates of medicinal plants results in a reduction in breast cancer risk; and (4) dietary quality, rather than the quantity of dietary components, determines breast cancer risk among Thai women.