Red meat may boost breast cancer risk

Younger women who eat red meat regularly appear to face an increased risk for a common form of breast cancer, according to a large, well-known Harvard study of women’s health.

The study of more than 90,000 women found that the more red meat the women consumed when they were in their 20s, 30s and 40s, the greater their risk for getting breast cancer fueled by hormones in the next 12 years. Those who consumed the most red meat faced nearly twice the risk of those who ate red meat infrequently.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is the first to examine the relationship between red meat consumption and breast cancer in premenopausal women.

Although more research is needed to confirm the association and explore the possible reasons for a link, researchers said the findings provided another motivation to limit consumption of red meat.