Another red alert

| 2 June 2008
minute reading time

A high intake of red meat during adolescence may increase the risk of premenopausal breast cancer. This study examined diets of over 39,000 women from 1998 to 2005, during which time 455 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed. Results showed that women who ate the most red meat had a 34 per cent higher risk of developing breast cancer compared to those who ate the least. Red meat consumption during adulthood has been previously been linked to hormone-fuelled breast cancer in women ages 26 to 46.

Linos et al., 2008. Red meat consumption during adolescence among premenopausal women and risk of breast cancer. Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. 17 (8) 2146-2151.

About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
I joined Viva! as a health campaigner in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. My scientific training helped me research and write numerous reports, guides and fact sheets for Viva! including Meat the Truth, Fish-Free for Life, One in Nine (breast cancer and diet) and the substantial report on the detrimental health effects of consuming dairy; White Lies. This accompanied Viva!’s report The Dark Side of Dairy which spelt out the inherent cruelty of dairy farming. We were the first UK group to take on the dairy industry in this way, and many of our supporters go vegan after reading these reports.

View author page | View staff profile

Tags: ,

Scroll up