The Chinese «boat people» of Hong Kong, according to Lancet, traditionally feed their babies only from the right breast and, among their menopausal women who develop breast cancer, tumors are several times more common on the left side than the right. Other populations sometimes show a slight difference in breast tumor sidedness but never a great preponderance like this. Chinese boat people are unique.

The bad outcome of only using one breast is not surprising. A constantly engorged breast never empties and its secretions (including ingested and inhaled pollutants) remain forever trapped in the ducts of that breast, irritating them and in some cases, ultimately transforming them into tumor tissue. Bottle feeding does not carry the same risk as using only one breast because both breasts dry up quickly when neither one is used.

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