Processed meat linked to cancer; red meat is risky too

The World Health Organization stressed Thursday that an explosive report this week linking the consumption of processed meat to cancer was not calling for people to stop eating meat altogether. The reason for a “probably carcinogenic” rating for red meat was that there was limited evidence of it being a cause, and strong evidence of it supporting a carcinogenic effect. So if you, like every other sane adult, don’t eat processed meat every day, this claim doesn’t really apply to you.

WHO’s findings can influence public health recommendations around the globe. Red meat, accordingly, may also be a likely cause of cancer.

This isn’t to say the reaction was completely misleading. But it said the risk rises with the amount consumed.

The World Health Organization announcement hits Australia particularly hard, given we eat more meat per capita than any other country.

“Eating 50 grams of processed meat daily increases the risk of having cancer by 18 percent”, said Dr. Ghadir Al-Shammari.

Overall, the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer in the U.S.is about 1 in 20, or 5 percent, according to the cancer society. The act of processing the meat or the consumption of the processed meat was associated with an increased risk of cancer, but the studies don’t allow you to actually dissect that further and figure out what exactly it is about processed meats that may lead to the increased risk.

One comparison that is making headlines is the idea that smoking is synonymous to processed meats, since both are carcinogenic to humans. I suspect a lot of people that would accept a less-than-half-a-percentage point increase in risk for the pleasure of eating bacon.

They agreed most people should limit red meat intake to two to four servings per month, and tilt heavily toward poultry and fish protein sources, and vegetable sources such as beans and nuts.

There is no comparison between red meat and tobacco. “It can be a great food”, Reid said.

But what about processed meat?

At present, Bayugo said they are recommending the Food and Nutrition and Research Institute practice of “Pinggang Pinoy” (healthy food plate) as a strategy to promote healthy diet. There are a few methods of preparing these foods that can reduce the risk of cancer.

The scientists who make these comparisons admit in their reports, that they can’t entirely determine that the processed meat caused the cancer in the case that it was linked to the diseases, since there are many other factors, beyond diet, that play a role in how and when a person falls victim to cancer.

Farmers and the meat industry reacted with outrage when the organisation’s global Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) put ham and sausages in the ominous-sounding “group one” of carcinogens, which includes formaldehyde, gamma radiation and cigarettes.