Red Meat Linked To Increased Breast Cancer Risk

Woman who frequently eat small amounts of red meat could be massively increasing their chances of developing breast cancer, researcher say.

Eating as little as 2 oz (56,69 grams) of beef, pork or lamb everyday can increase the risk of contracting the disease by 56 % in older, posmenopausal woman, they warn.

And eating larger amounts of processed meats, pushed the risk to 64 % for the same group.

Even younger women, who have yet to go through menopaue, are statistically more likely to develop the disease if they eat red meat daily, according to researchers at Sheffield University in the United Kingdom, who believe that red meat is contributing to the onset of breast cancer because it is a rich source of saturated fat.

Lead researcher Janet de, a professor of nutritiona epidemiology and public health at the university, said : "The findings are robust. Women consuming the most total meat, red meat and processed meat were at the highest risk compared with non-meat eaters, although red and processed meat were only statistically significant post-menopausally.

The research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, involved 35.000 women aged beween 35 and 69 who were studied over eight years.