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Three bacon rashers a day 'raises breast cancer risk for young women': Frequently eating red meat can raise chance of developing disease by more than 20%
- U.S. researchers studied the diets of almost 90,000 women aged 26 to 45
- Swapping red meat for chicken, fish or pulses 'can cut risk by a quarter'
- Findings published in British Medical Journal - but questioned by experts
By SOPHIE BORLAND, HEALTH CORRESPONDENT
PUBLISHED: 22:31 GMT, 10 June 2014 | UPDATED: 22:31 GMT, 10 June 2014
Study: Researchers claim red meat can increase the risk of breast cancer (file photo)
Women who eat red meat frequently are at far higher risk of breast cancer, a major study has revealed.
Just one and a half portions a day – the equivalent of three slices of bacon – may raise the chance of developing the disease by more than 20 per cent.
By contrast, swapping a serving of red meat for chicken, fish, pulses or vegetables can reduce the risk by up to 25 per cent, researchers claimed.
Breast cancer is by far the most common form of the illness in women, and statistics show one in eight will develop it.
There is growing evidence that it is linked to lifestyle factors – with obesity, smoking, excess alcohol and a lack of exercise thought to increase the risk.
In a study published today in the British Medical Journal, US researchers looked at the diets of 88,803 women aged 26 to 45.
They tracked them for 20 years, from 1991 to 2011, and monitored how many contracted breast cancer in that time. Those who ate one and a half portions of red meat a day were 22 per cent more likely to have developed the illness compared to those who had none or very little.
One portion is about 2oz (55g), the equivalent of a small steak, a chop, two slices of bacon, a serving of mince or several slices of ham.
The researchers also said every extra serving of red meat consumed daily increased a woman's risk of breast cancer by 13 per cent.
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Swapping one portion of red meat for chicken or turkey each day reduced the likelihood of the illness by a quarter, while switching it with poultry, fish, vegetables or pulses brought it down by 14 per cent.
Experts believe saturated fat in red meat increases cholesterol levels, which in turn trigger the production of the hormone oestrogen, which is linked to breast cancer.
Lead author Dr Maryam Farvid, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, concluded that higher red meat intake in early adulthood 'may be a risk factor for breast cancer'.
She added: 'Replacing red meat with a combination of legumes, poultry, nuts and fish may reduce the risk of breast cancer.'
But British scientists played down her findings yesterday.
They said most other studies have not shown any link between breast cancer and red meat.
Professor Valerie Beral, director of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, said: 'The available evidence indicates that red meat consumption has little or no effect on breast cancer risk, so results from a single study cannot be considered in isolation.
'This study alone is not strong enough to change the existing evidence that has found no definite link... [But] it's not a bad idea to swap some red meat for white meat, beans or fish'
Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK
'The most reliable measure of meat consumption is whether or not people are vegetarian. Vegetarians do not have lower risks of breast cancer than non-vegetarians, supporting other evidence that meat consumption is unlikely to play a major role in breast cancer.'
Professor Tim Key, of Cancer Research UK, said: 'This research finds only a weak link between eating red meat and breast cancer and this study alone is not strong enough to change the existing evidence that has found no definite link between the two. It's not a bad idea to swap some red meat – which is linked to bowel cancer – for white meat, beans or fish.'
In 2011, the Government issued advice urging the public to cut its red meat intake to no more than 500g a week over concerns that it caused bowel cancer and increased the risk of heart disease.
Some 50,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year, with almost 12,000 patients dying from it annually. These rates have increased by 70 per cent since the Seventies, possibly due to increased obesity and alcohol consumption, and a rising elderly population, who are at greater risk.
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