Red Meat Consumption Increases Breast Cancer Risk

Information PCRM

A recent analysis from Harvard’s Nurses’ Health Study II found that red meat consumption increases breast cancer risk. The analysis comprised 90,659 premenopausal women aged 26 to 46 who completed food surveys during a 12-year period. Women who consumed 1 1/2 or more servings of red meat per day had nearly double the risk of developing hormone receptor-positive breast cancer compared with those consuming three or fewer servings of red meat per week. Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer is the most common type of breast cancer and has been on the rise in recent years.

Cho E, Chen WY, Hunter DJ, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Hankinson SE, Willett WC. Red Meat Intake and Risk of Breast Cancer Among Premenopausal Women. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:2253-2259.


Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
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Source: Information about nutrition and health
Author: PCRM

Link: Health Beat
Link: People who eat an abundance of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, and who don't focus their eating around meat, have the lowest risk of cancer.