World Health Organization report: Processed meats can increase risk of cancer

That sounds quite technical, but what it means is that IARC isn’t in the business of telling us how potent something is in causing cancer – only whether it does so or not.

“Can’t let good red meat go down the tube because maybe it’ll cause cancer”.

However, the WHO did say meat does have health benefits.

“But what all of us can take away from this is that as we make food choices, it might be better to lean away from processed meats, to have fresh food [and] also more of a plant-based diet”, Miller said. According to Dariush Mozzafarian, dean of the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, there’s not enough evidence to give meat eaters a specific amount that is OK to consume.

NBC points out that this isn’t exactly new information, as these types of meats have been linked to cancer before. High temperature cooking, such as on a barbeque, can also create carcinogenic chemicals. It is also known that grilling or smoking meat can create suspected carcinogens.

The report from the WHO’s global Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said 50 grams of processed meat a day, or two slices of bacon, can increase the chance of developing bowel cancer by 18 per cent.

The Reuters report said the WHO’s agency doesn’t suggest that eating processed meat is just as risky as smoking, since it doesn’t compare cancer risk among substances in its danger categories.

The World Health Organization researchers defined processed meat as anything transformed to improve its flavor or preserve it, including sausages, beef jerky and anything smoked.

The report has made headlines worldwide, because, in effect, the new classification places cured and processed meats in the same category as asbestos, alcohol, arsenic and tobacco.

While consumption of meat varies widely from country to country, Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of IARC, said that the findings from over 800 studies in the last 20 years analyzing the association of processed meats with cancer back up assertions that people should limit meat consumption.

The WCRF advises that people can reduce their bowel cancer risk by eating no more than 500g (cooked weight) per week of red meat, such as beef, pork and lamb.

Independent experts stressed that the World Health Organization findings should be kept in perspective.

“To put that into perspective, the lifetime risk of colon cancer is five-percent”.