RED MEAT AND PROCESSED MEATS LINKED TO CANCER, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SAYS

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East County News Service

October 29, 2015 (San Diego) -- Red meats—meaning beef and pork--probably cause cancer.  So do meats that have been salted, smoked, pickled or otherwise processed , the World Health Organization, or WHO, warns. WHO issued those findings in a summary of an upcoming report published in the medical journal Lancet Oncology.

The findings are based on results of 800 studies by a working group from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a WHO entity.

The link is strongest for processed meats such as bacon, sausages, ham or lunch meats commonly used in school lunchboxes. The strongest evidence was for colorectal cancer. Eating 50 grams of processed meats daily – or just two slices of bacon--increases the risk of bowel cancer by 18%.  WHO attributes 34,000 cancer deaths a year worldwide to processed meats alone, CNN reports.

Though that’s far below the cancer risk posed by smoking cigarettes or asbestos exposure, the  news has prompted many health experts to recommend moderating your consumption of red and processed meat products.

A full report with details backing up the findings will be published in the near future, according to WHO. For more details, see the WHO   press release and  report summary, presented in the Lancet Oncology  news section.

What remains uncertain is why red and processed meat eaters have higher rates of cancer than say, vegetarians or people who eat only chicken and fish, not red meats.  UC San Diego Researcher Ajit Varki has conducted research that finds red meat causes inflammation, which can aggravate cancer in humans, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Red meats are also known to increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, colorectal and other cancers.

Others have speculated that chemicals used in curing processed meats, particularly nitrates. Others point to chemicals produced in cooking red meats, but the same chemicals are produced in cooking poultry and fish. 

WHO stopped short of setting guidelines for any safe levels of red or processed meats.  Following the announcement, some doctors are advising patients not to pig out on these items.  But the meat industry, predictably, issued a statement charring the report as “dramatic and alarmist overreach.”

 

 


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