Too many fry-ups give you cancer, warns group

According to estimates cited by the IARC, 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide are attributable to diets high in processed meat.

Hot dogs, bacon, cold cuts and other processed meats raise the risk of colon, stomach and other cancers, and red meat probably contributes to the disease, too, the World Health Organization said Monday, throwing its considerable authority behind what many doctors have been warning for years. That doesn’t mean, though, that salami is as bad as cigarettes.

Miller at Lifebridge Health’s Lapidus Cancer Center says we should take the recommendations as a broader reminder about eating healthier.

By reviewing 800 studies that looked at the association of cancer with consumption of red or processed meat in people around the world, of diverse ethnicities and diets.

Experiments to test whether a food causes cancer pose a massive logistical challenge – they require controlling the diets of thousands of test subjects over a course of many years.

“Classifying red and processed meat as cancer “hazards” defies both common sense and numerous studies showing no correlation between meat and cancer”, the association said in a statement.

The report, compiled by 22 experts from 10 countries, revealed “a carcinogenic effect” for red meat consumption mainly for cancer of the colon and rectum.

“For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer due to 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.

Experts found that each 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer, by 18%.

An ounce and three-quarters is roughly equivalent to a hot dog or a couple of slices of bologna, though it depends on how thinly it is sliced.

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

Red meat is beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton and goat (and horse, if you happen to fancy it). The studies available were confounded by a range of other factors, including obesity, smoking, alcohol intake and a low intake of vegetables.

The news provides a few relief for sausage and bacon users, following news their habit may cause cancer.

Many don’t consider it a meal without meat, and the full English Breakfast wouldn’t be the same without bacon and sausage.

Four years ago, Satterfield faced testicular cancer. Surviving that battle, he said, has made him much more aware of the sourcing of its meat, which he considers just as important as how the meat is processed. “We’re talking to local farmers asking how pigs are raised, what they are eating”. The more you learn about sourcing, the more astonishing it can be.

“Nobody is telling people not to eat meat”, said David Wallinga, senior health officer for health and environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council. “Hopefully, something like this will cause a shift”. We need to continue to work on knowing the importance of how food affects us physically. The quantitative risk, Clinton says, “is not even in the same ballpark as cigarette smoking”.

Shares of Hormel Foods fell 1 per cent yesterday, as did shares of Kraft Heinz, which makes Oscar Mayer hot dogs. “Indeed, based on earlier scientific studies, including findings from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study II, the American Cancer Society has recommended limiting consumption of red and processed meat specifically since 2002”, she added.

No, predicted Hopkins. “This won’t bother chefs”.

“At the same time, red meat has nutritional value”.

The results aren’t that shocking in the USA, where many parents fret over chemicals in cured meats and the American Cancer Society has long cautioned against eating too much steak and deli.

WHO’s findings can influence public health recommendations around the globe. But if you eat lots of it you may want to think about cutting down.