Breast Cancer: Don’t Blame the Meat

Women have been told for a while that their diet of red meat could contribute to the development of breast cancer. However, as happens with many studies involving food, this finding has just been negated by another study.

According to the study, published in a recent issue of the International Journal of Cancer, there is “no support for a role of meat mutagens in the development of postmenopausal breast cancer.”

The researchers took into account the reports of red meat or meat cooked at high temperatures and their relationship with an increased incidence of breast cancer among women. They then looked at meat consumption in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort. The study 120,755 postmenopausal women who reported their food intake when they entered the study in 1995 to 1996, and the provided information on what they ate and how it was prepared, over the next eight years.

During this 8 years of follow-up, 3,818 cases of invasive breast cancer were found – not more than one would expect to find.

Of course, as with all such studies, this type of finding may change yet again, but it’s seemingly good news for women who do eat red meat.

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