- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Young
women who eat more red meat and full-fat dairy products such as cheese
may be raising their risk of breast cancer, researchers reported on Tuesday.
-
- They said their study, published in the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute, provides yet another incentive for women to
shun fatty foods and consume fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
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- "When we compared the women in the highest fat intake
group with women in lowest intake group, those with the highest intake
had a 33 percent greater risk of invasive breast cancer," Eunyoung
Cho of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School said in
a telephone interview.
-
- Cho said her study was unique because it included women
who had not reached menopause. Breast cancer takes years to develop, although
it usually shows up after menopause, and factors early in a woman's life
may be important.
-
- Women most at risk of breast cancer obtained, on average,
23 percent of calories from animal fat, versus 12 percent in the lowest-risk
group.
-
- Vegetable fats such as olive oil did not affect a woman's
risk. "We found that it was not total fat but certain types of fat
that was related to breast cancer risk," Cho said.
-
- The study of more than 90,000 women aged 26 to 46 was
taken from the Nurses' Health Study, in which volunteers answer regular
questionnaires about diet and lifestyle and that data is analyzed by researchers
who track the women's health.
-
- Over the eight years of the study, 714 women developed
invasive breast cancer.
-
- "Overall, we observed that there was a higher risk
of breast cancer among women who ate foods rich in animal fat such as red
meat, cheese, ice cream and butter during their 20s, 30s and 40s,"
Cho said.
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- CONTROVERSIAL AREA
-
- "In an area of breast cancer research that has yielded
often starkly different findings, we have illustrated that there may be
stronger support for lowering overall animal fat intake, especially during
a woman's early adult life," she added.
-
- Hydrogenated oils, hardened to be more like butter and
lard, clog arteries just like butter and lard do. Last week the U.S. government
said it would require food manufacturers to label foods with trans-fats
-- found in animal and hydrogenated fat.
-
- Researchers have long noted that the rates of certain
cancers are higher in the West than in Asia. But it has not been clear
whether that is due to what people eat -- such as animal fat and dairy
products -- or what they do not eat -- perhaps soy, vegetables or other
products.
-
- Cho, an epidemiologist who studies patterns of disease
as well as a nutritionist, said it is not clear how animal fat may cause
cancer.
-
- "Fat intake in general has been hypothesized to
increase circulating hormone levels such estrogen levels," she said.
-
- Cooked red meat contains cancer-causing agents and is
also liked with colon cancer.
-
- Eating less meat and full-fat dairy can also help a woman
reduce her risk of heart disease, the No. 1 killer of both men and women
in the industrialized world, Cho said.
-
- According to the World Health Organization, more than
1.2 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Breast
cancer will kill more than 40,000 Americans this year.
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-
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