Mail on Sunday: Eating bacon once a week ‘could raise breast cancer risk by 57 per cent’

Women who regularly eat processed meats such as bacon and ham may be significantly increasing their risk of developing breast cancer, a major study reveals.

Researchers found that women who ate processed meats at least once a week were 57 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer than those who avoided them.

The effect was strongest in women under the age of 50, they found.

The decade-long study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Nutrition, tracked more than 71,000 women aged 40 to 69.

Scientists believe the culprit is sodium nitrite – a preservative commonly used in processed meats – which can form cancer-causing compounds in the body, potentially damaging DNA and triggering mutations in breast tissue.

A spokesman for the Coalition Against Nitrites said: ‘This is yet another alarming piece of evidence linking nitrite-cured processed meat with cancer. Families should not be unknowingly exposed to a substance that scientists say can generate carcinogens in the body. The Government must now recognise the mounting evidence and take decisive action to remove nitrites from our food chain. Safer alternatives exist – there is no reason to continue taking these risks with public health.’

Read the full Mail on Sunday report here.

Read the full scientific paper here.