Red Meat Linked to Breast Cancer

Eating red meat may be linked to breast cancer, according to a study of women’s health conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers.

The study assessed 90,000 women over a 12-year period and found that higher red meat intake increased the risk of hormone-related breast cancer.

Women who ate more than 1.5 daily servings of red meat—which includes beef, pork, and lamb—were nearly twice as likely to be at risk than women who ate 3 or fewer servings per week.

The researchers gathered evidence by means of “a food frequency questionnaire,” according to the study, published Monday in Archives of Internal Medicine. “Breast cancers were self-reported and confirmed by review of pathologic reports,” the study said.

A Harvard University Dining Services spokeswoman, Crista Martin, said that campus menus do not rely heavily on red meat.

“Beef appears as an option 3 times in [the] 42 [entrees] over the coming week,” Martin said.

According to Martin, HUDS receives nutrition information from the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

“We use the tenets of Dr. Walter Willett’s Healthy Eating Pyramid to guide our menus and the nutrition information we share with students,” Martin said, referring to a nutritional aid developed by researchers at HSPH.

“That said,” Martin added, “we believe very much in the student’s right to make his or her own dietary decisions, and students are showing a growing interest in areas of healthy eating.”

Told about the recent study, one Harvard female agreed that dining options on campus favor other sources of protein.

“I guess we’re safe here then,” said Erica S. C. Lin ’10, “because all we eat here is chicken. I really haven’t eaten red meat in a long time.”

And one freshman offered a more philosophical approach to healthy eating.

“There are a bunch of studies that say, ‘fat good,’ ‘fat bad,’ that show links between this dieting trend and this disease onset,” said Judith E. Fan ’10. “Just don’t eat too much of anything, and long life and prosperity will come to you.”