Middle Age Female Health Alert: Red meat increases breast cancer risk

Eating red meat significantly increases a post-menopausal woman's chance of breast cancer, University of Leeds research suggests.

A seven year study of 35,000 women by a team from University of Leeds team have concluded that older women who ate one 2oz portion a day (57 grams) had a 56% increased risk compared with those who did not eat red met. Those that ate the most processed meat, such as bacon, sausages, or ham, had a 64% greater risk of breast cancer than those who did not.

For younger, pre-menopausal women who ate large amounts of red and processed meat the risk was also raised but not statistically significant.

However, experts warned it was extremely difficult to pin down the effect of specific parts of the diet on cancer risk, and said previous research had produced inconclusive results. There are so many factors and variables that isolating any one is difficult. One such variable is whether or not the animals are given growth hormones (they are in the U.S. but not in the UK where the study was concluded).

To be safe, women who are consuming relatively high amounts of red and processed meat on a daily basis should consider reducing their intake. Earlier findings from the same study showed that pre-menopausal women who have the greatest intake of fiber have cut their risk of breast cancer in half.

The role of diet and consistently been shown to influence risk. Experts estimate that approximately 30% of all cancers in Western countries are linked to diet.

Link to PDF of full report.

Additional source BBC.

breast cancer