Ask any hard-core meat-lover and they will swear by their love for red meat over any other food. Red meats are undoubtedly delicious and offer a drool-worthy, rich eating experience. But with all the richness and great taste of red meat, come a string of health problems as well. Most of the red meats are high in calories, fats and cholesterol content. It's a known fact that too much of red meat spells danger for heart health. But, not many knew this till now that red meat can also invite other dangerous diseases like breast cancer. A recently conducted study has made the startling revelation that red meat consumption may increase the risk of breast cancer.
The study was published in the International Journal of Cancer. The study also divulged that in comparison to red meat, poultry foods may provide protection against breast cancer.
Dale P. Sandler from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in the US said, "Red meat has been identified as a probable carcinogen. Our study adds further evidence that red meat consumption may be associated with increased risk of breast cancer whereas poultry was associated with decreased risk."
(Also Read: 6 Effective Ways To Reduce The Risk Of Breast Cancer)
Red meat can cause breast cancer
The team of researchers studied 42,012 women for their consumption and cooking practices of different types of meat. After a monitoring process that went on for 7.6 years, 1,536 invasive breast cancers were diagnosed among the women. It was noticed that participants who ate more red meat had a 23 per cent higher risk of developing breast cancer and those who ate more poultry foods had a 15 per cent lower risk than others.
(Also Read: Low-Fat, Plant-Based Diet My Reduce The Risk Of Breast Cancer)
Parag Kumar, Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, told IANS, "Processed meat is usually made up of red meat but it also contains nitrates and nitrites which further break down to form carcinogen. It is recommended that not more than 455 gram of cooked red meat should be consumed in a week."