Red alert for breast cancer
Previous work has shown that red meat increases the risk of stomach and pancreatic cancer. Now red meat has been linked to breast cancer. US researchers look at the diets of over 90,000 premenopausal women (aged 26 to 46) over 12 years and found that women who ate more than one and a half servings of red meat a day (the equivalent of a sausage and a burger) almost doubled the risk of breast cancer. The incidence of breast cancer in UK women is increasing by more than one per cent each year, with over 42,000 new cases diagnosed every year and 12,400 women losing their lives to this disease every year. Reduce your risk by going veggie today!
Cho et al., 2006. Red meat intake and risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women. Archives of Internal Medicine. 166 (20) 2253-2259.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
View author page | View staff profile
