Processed meat linked to breast cancer

WOMEN who eat a large amount of processed meat may raise their chances of getting breast cancer.

A diet high in processed meat, such as bacon and sausages, increases breast cancer risk by 9 per cent, according to research.

However, the danger was significantly increased only for post-menopausal women.

The link between processed meat and bowel cancer is well-known, but there is less evidence on breast cancer.

An analysis of 15 studies, led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, suggests the nitrates and nitrites used to cure processed meat may raise the risk of breast cancer. The 9 per cent higher risk for breast cancer was for women consuming the highest amount compared to those consuming the lowest across the studies analysed in the International Journal of Cancer.

It comes as a study found that women with ‘pre-diabetes’ are at a high risk of heart disease. Even before they are diagnosed with full-blown diabetes, women who have poor blood sugar control have higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol and higher levels of triglyceride fats in their blood, the Oxford University team found.

For men the problems were not nearly as severe, according to findings presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

Five million people in the UK are living with pre-diabetes, in which they have raised blood sugar but are not yet considered to have fullblown type 2 diabetes.

It is reversible with good diet and exercise, while fullblown type 2 diabetes is much harder to cure.