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Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition found that results from a 20-year study demonstrate a possible connection with red meat consumption and breast cancer.
The study involved 89,000 women from ages 24 to 43, tracking their health for a total of 20 years. Of those 89,000, close to 3,000 developed breast cancer; those who developed breast cancer were the ones who consumed it the most out of the entire group.
According to HealthDay News, Women who ate 1.5 servings of red meat a day increased their chance of breast cancer by 22 percent. The women who consumed more than 1.5 servings of red meat a day increased their risk by 13 percent per extra serving of meat ingested. On the contrary, women who ate other sources of protein such as fish and legumes decreased their risk of developing cancer by 14 percent.
The lead researcher for the study, Maryam Farvid, remarked that eating less red meat has also been linked to decreasing the risks of other health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Professor Tim Key, a University of Oxford epidemiologist, clarified that while red meat may be linked to breast cancer, the study does not provide enough information to make a claim that it definitely causes the disease. He suggests that women attain a healthy weight, along with rare consumption of alcohol, and regular exercise in order to reduce their risks of breast cancer. Still, it is a good idea to reduce red meat with other meats as it has been proven to increase bowel cancer risks, he said, according to BBC News.