HEALTH UPDATE: barbecue lovers may have higher breast cancer risk

Postmenopausal women who like barbecued and smoked meat would be wise to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables too, a new study suggests.
Dr Susan E. Steck of the University of South Carolina in Columbia and her colleagues found that postmenopausal women who consumed the most grilled, barbecued or smoked red meat over their lifetime have a 47 percent increased risk of breast cancer. Big meat-eaters who also skimped on fruit and vegetables had a 74 percent increased risk of the disease.
No relationship was detected between recent patterns of meat consumption and breast cancer in postmenopausal women. In addition, the investigators found no significant association between long- or short-term meat consumption and breast cancer in premenopausal women. The findings "support the cancer prevention guidelines that are currently recommended" calling for people to eat more plant-based foods and limit processed or red meat consumption, Steck noted in an interview with Reuters Health.