A vendor sells sausages prepared at a local sausage shop of the "Russia" collective farm in the settlement of Grigoropolisskaya, northwest of the southern city of Stavropol, February 17, 2015. (photo: Eduard Kornlyenko/Reuters)
26 October 15
ating
processed meats like hot dogs, sausages or bacon can lead to bowel
cancer in humans and red meat is a likely cause of the disease, World
Health Organisation (WHO) experts said.
The review by the WHO's International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC), released on Monday, put processed meat in its
group 1 list, which also includes tobacco and asbestos, for which there
is "sufficient evidence" of cancer links.
Red meat was classified as probably carcinogenic in
IARC's group 2A list, to which it has also added this year glyphosate,
the active ingredient in many weedkillers.
Meat industry groups rejected the findings as
simplistic, although some scientists said they may not add much to
existing health recommendations to limit consumption of such meat.
The IARC was carrying out a formal review of meat for
the first time and examined some 800 studies during a meeting of 22
health experts in France earlier this month.
"For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal
(bowel) cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains
small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed," Dr
Kurt Straif of the IARC said in a statement.
Each 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent, the agency estimated.
The classification for red meat - defined as all types
of mammalian meat, including beef, lamb and pork - reflected "limited
evidence" that it causes cancer. The IARC found links mainly with bowel
cancer, but it also observed associations with pancreatic and prostate
cancer.
Inconclusive evidence of a link between processed meat and stomach cancer was also observed, it said.
The IARC does not compare the level of cancer risk
associated with different substances in a given category, so does not
suggest eating meat is as dangerous as smoking, for example.
But the bracketing of processed meat with products
such as tobacco or arsenic irked industry groups, with the North
American Meat Institute saying the IARC report "defies common sense".
Suppliers argue that meat provides essential protein, vitamins and minerals as part of a balanced diet.
"We've known for some time about the probable link
between red and processed meat, and bowel cancer," Professor Tim Key of
Oxford University said in a statement from charity Cancer Research UK.
"Eating a bacon bap every once in a while isn't going to do much harm - having a healthy diet is all about moderation."
The IARC, however, said such dietary advice often focused on heart disease and obesity.
It cited an estimate from the Global Burden of Disease
Project - an international consortium of more than 1,000 researchers -
that 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide are attributable to diets
high in processed meat.
This compares with about 1 million cancer deaths per
year globally due to tobacco smoking and 600,000 a year due to alcohol
consumption, it said.
+3
#
2015-10-26 10:14
Eating cooked meat
(in a mixed diet with raw fruit & vegetables) was needed by our
ancient ancestors before they could evolve large forebrains from the
high protein content of meat and from the teamwork & language
necessary for hunting. While their longevity seems to have been pretty
good (greater than the bread-eating peasants of the Neolithic) it was
nowhere near the length of our lives today. Living into old age requires
a change in diet -- so now I shun red meats & processed foods &
eat a lot more high fiber cereals, fruits and vegetables, lightly
cooked or raw, substituting stevia & potassium for sugar &
sodium.
We are by ancestry omnivores. I see no reason to become a "vegan" although my ethics make me avoid all meat, even pale meat like chicken, that's maltreated & buy it only from our local co-op. I was raised to be scared of trichinosis & never developed a taste for pork, but I do succumb to lamb or mutton about 4 times a year because I love the taste, and if a hunter offered me a venison steak I'd quickly accept! Temptation is OK now and then, but I do try to eat vegetarian 3 or 4 times a week. I'm near 80, healthier and more energetic than some people 20 years younger, so my diet may be suitable. However, as I age it may need to change again. We just need to be flexible and not worry overmuch about it. I hardly ever think about my health beyond listening to me doctor (she's wise!) and making occasional adjustments.
We are by ancestry omnivores. I see no reason to become a "vegan" although my ethics make me avoid all meat, even pale meat like chicken, that's maltreated & buy it only from our local co-op. I was raised to be scared of trichinosis & never developed a taste for pork, but I do succumb to lamb or mutton about 4 times a year because I love the taste, and if a hunter offered me a venison steak I'd quickly accept! Temptation is OK now and then, but I do try to eat vegetarian 3 or 4 times a week. I'm near 80, healthier and more energetic than some people 20 years younger, so my diet may be suitable. However, as I age it may need to change again. We just need to be flexible and not worry overmuch about it. I hardly ever think about my health beyond listening to me doctor (she's wise!) and making occasional adjustments.
+3
#
2015-10-26 11:09
I am interested that
the processing of the meats mentioned here is not seen as the culprit as
opposed to the meats themselves. For decades we, the healthy food
people, have searched meat counters for non Nitrate and Nitrate
preserved bacon, ham, sausage, and the like. Large quantities of red
meat may promote bowel cancer but the steak eating American public
should all have been sick by now. Actually the Nitrates in the processed
meats turn into Nitrosamines (described as having potent
carcinogenicity )
in the digestive system and the "government" has been looking for safe
levels for awhile. Safe for me equals none because I have a de-toxing
issue thanks to a tricky gene mutation (L 677 T) and am thankful someone
is finally helping everyday food get healthier.
+2
#
2015-10-26 12:13
The Hindus have one up on the rest of Meat eating carnivores..... ...............
0
#
2015-10-26 12:41
The latest find of
the skeletal remains of early hominids in Johannesburg shows we were
plant eaters. Eat Right for Your Type (meaning blood) says that mainly
type O is the only one that can safely eat and actually needs red meat
such as beef. The rest of us - lots of plants and maybe a lamb or mutton
once in awhile..Perhaps we are still a mixed species of Neanderthal and
Cro-Magnon... some can eat meat and others shouldn't...
0
#
2015-10-26 18:01
Very ancient hominids
were plant eaters because they couldn't GET much meat: indeed, they
were prey themselves. As hominids became capable of hunting, meat
entered their diets. Vegetarianism is a choice, though my grandparents
had a friend who almost died in the womb because her mother was a
vegetarian and didn't get enough protein and B vitamins.
Today, of course, one can get B vitamins from supplements, but any diet that needs to be backed up with pills isn't a good one.
Today, of course, one can get B vitamins from supplements, but any diet that needs to be backed up with pills isn't a good one.
+1
#
2015-10-26 13:00
"If God didn't want us to eat animals, He shouldn't have made them out of meat". --- Homer Simpson
+1
#
2015-10-26 13:15
All humans are born
to be omnivores. Look at the teeth. If we were meant to be carnivores,
we would have teeth more like leopards. If we were meant to be
herbivores, our teeth would resemble those of sheep. Our teeth are
varied in order to accommodate a variety of foods.
My concern with these studies that I've been reading about processed meats is the elements that go into processing that meat. Like monosodium glutamate, modified corn starch, sodium diacetate, sodium nitrate, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, or any number of colors or preservatives.
I don't buy meat at the store, mostly because of the cost. I don't think eating Spam once or twice a year is going to cause cancer, if a person is otherwise eating a nutritionally balanced diet.
My concern with these studies that I've been reading about processed meats is the elements that go into processing that meat. Like monosodium glutamate, modified corn starch, sodium diacetate, sodium nitrate, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, or any number of colors or preservatives.
I don't buy meat at the store, mostly because of the cost. I don't think eating Spam once or twice a year is going to cause cancer, if a person is otherwise eating a nutritionally balanced diet.
+1
#
2015-10-26 14:25
Our eyes, like most
other omnivores, are in front of our heads. If we were meant to be
herbivores our eyes would be on the sides. Moderation is key.
