Meat, Eggs and Dairy Not Linked to Breast Cancer

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While there are still plenty of reasons to watch your consumption of animal fats, a large European study concludes that meat, eggs and dairy products do not increase the risk of breast cancer. Results from the European Pros – pec tive Investigation into Cancer and Nutri – tion (EPIC) study of 319,826 women show no significant link between overall intake of these foods and breast-cancer risk.

Seeking to investigate whether a Western-style diet, high in meat, eggs and dairy products, increases breast-cancer risk, Valeria Pala, ScD, of the IRCCS National Cancer Institute in Milan and colleagues documented 7,119 cases of breast cancer over almost nine years. They concluded, No consistent association was found between cancer risk and the consumption of any of the food groups under study.

The EPIC scientists did find a modest 10% increase in risk for post-menopausal women associated with high intakes of processed meat. And high butter consumption among pre-menopausal women was linked to a 28% increased risk. Reporting their findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Pala and colleagues also called for additional study of a possible role of high-temperature cooking of red meat in breast-cancer risk, which was a factor in their results.

In an accompanying editorial, Eleni Linos, MD, DrPH, from Stanford University and Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, from Harvard pointed out that studies totaling more than 1 million women worldwide are quite consistent in showing no overall relation of meat or dairy products consumed in midlife or later to breast-cancer risk.

Nevertheless, the editorial went on, good reasons still exist for keeping consumption of red meat low, because this will likely help reduce risks of coronary heart disease and type-2 diabetes. Moreover, solid evidence documents that avoidance of weight gain during adult life and low alcohol consumption will be effective in reducing breast-cancer risk.

TO LEARN MORE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 2009; abstract at www.ajcn.org/cgi/ content/abstract/90/3/602.

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