Red Meat Increases Breast Cancer Risk in Young Women

Category: Cancer , Women's Health

Young women who eat more red meat appear to be more at risk for developing certain types of breast cancer according to findings published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The findings were concluded after looking at information from more than 90,000 women enrolled in a nurses study. The women included in this study were followed for an average of 12 years and were cancer free and premenopausal at time of enrollment.

Dietary habits were assessed at multiple time periods during the follow up and at the initial enrollment period.

Women who ate one and a half servings of red meat per day were at an increased risk for developing hormone receptive breast cancer compared to women who ate red meat three or less servings a week. The risk was nearly double.

Hormone specific breast cancers are responsive to progesterone and estrogen and can be particularly deadly. These specific types of breast cancer are beginning to show up in women of youger ages, many years before menopause.

Some believe, and the authors speculate, that the increase in these types of cancer as well as the increased risk may be due to hormones and other treatments that are given to beef before they become food.

Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on August 8, 2014 11:00 AM