Red meat 'ups breast cancer risk'

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Red meat 'ups breast cancer risk'

Eating red meat significantly increases a

post-menopausal woman's chance

of breast cancer, research suggests.

A University of Leeds team monitored 35,000 women over

seven years.

Older women who ate one 2oz portion a day (57 grams)

had a 56% increased

risk compared with those who ate none, the British

Journal of Cancer

reports.

And those who ate the most processed meat, such as

bacon, sausages, ham

or pies, had a 64% greater risk of breast cancer than

those who refrained.

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.

Lead researcher Professor Janet Cade said younger,

pre-menopausal women

who ate large amounts of red and processed meat also

had a raised risk

of breast cancer - but the effect was not

statistically significant.

However, the researchers did find that a high overall

consumption of

meat appeared to raise the risk for women of all ages.

Professor Cade said: " Meat is high in saturated fat,

and saturated fat

influences the amount of cholesterol the body makes.

Cholesterol is

precursor to oestrogen, which has been linked to an

increased risk of

breast cancer.

" Cooking meat at high temperatures might also form

carcinogenic compounds.

" My advice to women who are consuming relatively high

amounts of red and

processed meat on a daily basis is to consider

reducing their intake. "

Earlier findings from the same study showed that

pre-menopausal women

who have the greatest intake of fibre have cut their

risk of breast

cancer in half.

Dr is Willett, of the charity Breakthrough Breast

Cancer, said:

" This is an interesting study but because we eat a

variety of foods it

is difficult to separate out the specific effect of

red meat on breast

cancer risk.

" Differences in other factors such as age, weight and

level of exercise

were also found between red meat eaters and non-red

meat eaters in this

study and may also play a part in the risk of

developing breast cancer.

" Previous research studying red meat and breast cancer

risk have been

inconclusive.

" However, experts estimate that approximately 30% of

all cancers in

Western countries are linked to diet. "

Henry Scowcroft, of Cancer Research UK, said women

should maintain a

healthy body weight, take regular exercise, and avoid

regular portions

of fatty foods like red and processed meat.

A US study published in November found eating large

amounts of red meat

might double young women's breast cancer risk.

The Archives of Internal Medicine study looked at over

90,000

pre-menopausal women.

Having one-and-a-half servings of red meat per day

almost doubled the

risk of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer

compared to three or

fewer per week.

However, UK cancer experts said animals in the UK were

not given growth

hormones which are used for US animals.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news. bbc.co.uk/ go/pr/fr/ -/1/hi/health/

6523009.stm

Published: 2007/04/03 23:02:37 GMT