The University of Leeds issued on April 4, 2007 a new study focused on the effect of meat consumption and meat type on the risk of breast cancer in the UK Women’s Cohort Study. According to this new research, eating red meat increases a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer.

Researchers at the University’s Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics have been tracking the eating habits and health of more than 35,000 women for the past seven years, and their latest findings are published in the British Journal of Cancer.

The findings are most striking for post-menopausal women - those with the highest intake of red meat, the equivalent to one portion a day (more than 57 grams) - run a 56 per cent greater risk of breast cancer than those who eat none. Women who eat the most processed meat, such as bacon, sausages, ham or pies, run a 64 per cent greater risk of breast cancer than those who eat none. Earlier findings, widely reported in January, showed that pre-menopausal women who have the greatest intake of fibre have cut their risk of breast cancer in half.
 You can read a full text of the article from the British Journal of Cancer
 University of Leeds - Home page: http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/press_releases/current/redmeat.htm