Eating a lot of red meat in early adult life may slightly increase the risk of breast cancer,  BBC News reports.

The news is based on a large US study that looked at the protein dietary intake of almost 90,000 female nurses and their risk of breast cancer over a 20-year period.

Previous studies have focused on the dietary intake of those in their "midlife" and older populations. In this particular study, however, researchers were interested in finding the potential link between diet and breast cancer risk in early adulthood.

The main finding was that a higher intake of red meat (which included both processed and unprocessed meat) was associated with a 22% increased risk of breast cancer.

The results suggest that women who chose healthier sources of protein – such as chicken, nuts and lentils – had a decreased risk of breast cancer.

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