Excessive Consumption of Red Meat May Increase Risk of Breast Cancer

Previous studies have linked red meat to increased rates of cancer. Now, an observational study published in BMJ suggests that heavy consumption of this food could up the odds of breast cancer, in particular.

The 20-year study that examined 89,000 women showed an increased risk of breast cancer by nearly 25 percent for those who regularly consumed red meat compared to those who ate different types of poultry as an alternative.

Looking at the Study

For the study, researchers collected data from close to 89,000 women aged 26 to 45 who took part in the Nurses' Health Study II. The women were required to complete a questionnaire on diet in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007.

Participants then discussed their daily consumption of meat, including the following: beef, hamburger, lamb, pork, and different types of red meat and poultry eaten per day. Responses were based and then ranked from "never or less than once per month" to "six or more per day."

What the Results Mean 

Over 20 years of follow-up, 2,830 women developed breast cancer, according to the study.

More specifically, researchers found that those who ate 1.5 servings of red meat a day had a 22 percent higher risk of breast cancer than those who did not consume such foods so regularly. Increased daily consumption of red meat further increased the risk by 13 percent, according to lead researcher Maryam Farvid, who's with the Harvard School of Public Health's Department of Nutrition.

However, researchers point out that because this is a so-called observational study, it doesn't mean that eating red meat causes breast cancer. They also note that the biological reasons behind the connections are not entirely clear at this point. Future studies will need to be conducted in order to determine more cohesive results.

Decreasing Your Risk

Fortunately, eating more poultry lowered breast cancer risk seen among those in the study. For many that substituted one serving a day with poultry, their breast cancer risk was lowered overall by 17 percent. For postmenopausal women, the risk was lowered even further to 24 percent.

"Decreasing consumption of red meat and replacing it with other healthy dietary sources of protein, such as chicken, turkey, fish, beans, lentils, peas and nuts, may have important public health implications," Farvid said, via Health Day. "Reduction of red meat intake in the diet not only decreases the risk of breast cancer but also decreases the risk of other chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other kind of cancers, as well."