Women who eat a lot of meat, particularly red or processed meats, may be more likely to develop breast cancer, suggests a new study from England.
Post-menopausal women who eat the highest amount of red meat -were found to have a 56 per cent greater risk of breast cancer than those who ate none.
Researchers at the University of Leeds, also discovered that women who ate the most processed meat, including sausages, bacon and ham, have a 64 per cent greater risk of breast cancer than those who ate none.
The researchers claim that their findings confirm those of an earlier study which linked red meat consumption to increased breast cancer risk in pre- and postmenopausal women.
Over 35,000 women took part in the research, which tracked their eating habits and health for the past seven years.
“This study indicates relationships with certain meats and breast cancer in both pre- and postmenopausal women and merits further investigation in a larger study,” the researchers write in the British Journal of Cancer.
Daily consumption of red meat appeared to increase cancer risk even for younger women, the researchers led by Professor Janet Cade of the University of Leeds said.
It is advice to women worried about their breast cancer risk is to maintain a healthy bodyweight by taking regular exercise and avoid large regular portions of fatty foods like red and processed meat, and excess alcohol. It’s also important to be breast aware, and to go for screening.
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