A Harvard Medical School study linked the consumption of above-average amounts of red meat during adolescence with an increased likelihood of developing breast cancer as an adult.

Dr. Linda Frazier and her colleagues examined reports of food consumption from 38,268 pre-menopausal women who reported how often they had eaten red meat - including beef, pork, lamb, and processed meats such as hot dogs or bacon - when they were adolescents.

Women who reported eating more than two and a half servings per day (262 grams or more) had a 34 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer than did those who ate less than one serving. The kind of red meat did not matter. The average consumption was 68 grams per day.

"This study adds considerable evidence to the established adverse effect of red meat," Dr. Frazier said.

The work appears in the journal Cancer Epidemiology.

Labels: cancer, girls, healthy_eating

An eight-year study of 26,000 Greek citizens found that eating a "Mediterranean" diet reduces cancer risks by 22 percent. This diet such includes the following habits: consuming less red meat and dairy products, using olive oil instead of butter, and eating more fruits and vegetables. The researchers found that individuals who followed this plan had lowered rates for several types of cancer, including cervix, bowel, stomach, liver, and brain.

"Of the thousands of people we studied, those who followed a Mediterranean diet were overall less likely to develop cancer," said Harvard University professor Dimitrios Trichopoulos.

Labels: cancer, diet, healthy_eating