A recent study found that daily consumption of red meat may trigger one type of breast cancer.  A very large study of premenopausal women (90,659 nurses) followed from 1991 to 2003 uncovered some frightening results.  Of the 1,021 women who developed breast cancer, 512 were what is known as hormone receptor-positive cancers.  The majority of breast cancers fall into this group.  The results of the study were published in the November 13 issue of the medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study found that women who had one and a half servings of red meat a day nearly doubled their risk for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer as compared with women who ate less than three servings a week.

Researchers theorize that the increased risk may be linked to carcinogens found in cooked or processed meat, hormone treatments used to spur growth in the cattle and the type of iron found in red meat.

Reduction of red meat intake has already been shown to be preventive of other chronic diseases, including colorectal cancer.  These findings provide an even better reason for women to reduce the intake of red meat in their diets.