Hot dogs, bacon harmful to health

According to the statement, simply eating 50 grams of processed meat every day can increase the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent.

But he said the method used by the IARC in determining cancer risk levels based on red or processed meat consumption does not consider other factors, in many meat eaters, that may also be contributing to that risk.

A new study by the World Health Organization says there is a link between the risk for colon cancer and processed meats, but local physicians say the findings likely won’t require a change for the majority of people.

“We can not condemn red meats all together because they are a good source of iron and zinc minerals to the body”.

As cured meat is classified as a cause of cancer, a hot debate on how to balance eating habit and being healthy is sparked online.

But the New Zealand meat industry says the report should be taken with a pinch of salt.

This association was observed mainly for colorectal cancer, but associations were also seen for pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer, the World Health Organization report found.

Processed meat, on the other hand, “refers to meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavor or improve preservation”.

The IARC has evaluated the carcinogencity of the consumption of red and processed meat.

“Processed meats fall into the same category that cigarette smoking does with lung cancer”, says Alok Khorana, M.D., Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at Cleveland Clinic.

The Israel Cancer Association has warned many times in recent years about the risk of cancer from processed meat and grilling any meat at high temperatures. NAMI says that are many more studies showing the health benefits of balanced diets that include meat.

“What you are cutting down with meat bulk that up with plenty of veg or beans”.

The IARC included beef, lamb and pork under red meat and classified as a “probable” carcinogen in its group 2A list that also contained glyphosate, the active ingredient in many weedkillers.

“Science does not support the global agency’s opinion on red meat and cancer”.