Possible way to lower Breast Cancer risk by avoiding processed meats identified.

Fight Breast Cancer.

Scottsdale, AZ – Fox News reports that Western style diets have been linked to a higher risk of breast cancer. A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that cutting down on processed meats, red meat cooked at high temperatures, and high fat dairy products may help reduce a woman’s risk for developing breast cancer.

This particular research enrolled 367,993 women from 10 different European countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The average follow up was nine years and 7,119 women were diagnosed with breast cancer during the follow up period.  The investigators noted that there were no consistent relationship between consumption of meat, eggs or dairy and breast cancer risk. However, the researchers did find a 10 percent increased risk among premenopausal women who ate the most processed meat. Premenopausal women with heavy butter consumption showed an increased risk of developing breast cancer by 28 percent.

Interestingly, the risks associated with red meat eating varied between countries, with risks being the greatest in countries where cooking the red meat at high temperatures was more popular. “Our findings were not applicable to all the groups of women studied,” said study investigator Dr. Valeria Pala of Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.

“Nevertheless, following the principle of caution, women should limit their consumption of processed meat and of red meat cooked at high temperature,” Dr. Pala warned.

This is a very large and impressive study that looked at the eating habits of European women across many countries. Similar studies in the U.S. and other westernized countries have hinted of a relationship between high fat diets and increasing risks of breast cancer. “Although we found that milk had no significant association with breast cance,  the direction of the milk-breast cancer relation changed with the fat content of the milk, suggesting a protective effect against breast cancer for skimmed milk, and increased risk for full-fat milk,” Dr. Pala remarked.

Other benefits of following a diet low with processed meats and high fat dairy products could include a reduction in diabetes and weight.