Thursday June 13, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study of 200 Singapore Chinese women diagnosed with breast cancer and 420 matched controls released in the Lancet suggests that eating soy foods reduces the risk for breast cancer while eating animal proteins and red meat increases the risk in premenopausal women.

The study led by H.P. Lee of National University of Singapore in Singapore shows that high intakes of animal proteins found in meat and dairy products and red meat were correlated with elevated risk for breast cancer among premenopausal women.

Specifically, what decreased the risk included high intakes of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), beta carotene, soy proteins, total soy foods, and a high PUFA to saturated fat ratio and a high ratio of soy protein to total protein.

When multiple variables were analyzed, red meat was found positively associated with the risk of breast cancer whereas PUFA, beta-carotene and soya protein were found protective against the disease.

Among postmenopausal women, the associations existed, but not as significantly as the associations found among premenopausal women.

The researchers concluded "Our finding that soya products may protect against breast cancer in younger women is of interest since these foods are rich in phyto-oestrogens."

(Reporting by David LIu, PHD)