A team of scientists
reviewed 800 epidemiological studies, with greatest weight to high
population-based case-control studies, on the association of cancer risk due to
consumption of processed meats and red meats. They just released a journal today:
Carcinogenicity
of consumption of red and processed meat - and as usual, the news is running wild with
the story. "Meat causes cancer!". Perhaps it does...
First, let's define processed meat and red meat.
Processed meat is
meat that has been transformed through a process like salting, smoking,
fermentation, curing, and other methods to improve preservation or to enhance
the flavor of the meat. Hot dogs,
baloney, ham, sausage, bacon (le sigh).
Red meat is
"unprocessed mammalian muscle meat"; Pork, lamb, beef, veal, etc.
Note: The article does not
mention if the studies were conducted with pasture-raised/grass-fed meats or industry meats.
How does meat
processing cause cancer?
Smoking or curing
meat can result in the formation of carcinogenic chemicals.
Cooking meat, can
also produce carcinogens. And
High-temperature (frying, grilling, barbecuing)
produces the highest amount of carcinogens.
Did you know that f
ried food causes a significant
amount of
free radicals? And nitrosamine, which is a common chemical found in processed
and cured meats, causes cancer ("90% of nitrosamine compounds were deemed to be
carcinogenic" - Wikipedia).
"A majority of the Working Group concluded that
there is sufficient evidence in human beings for the carcinogenicity of the
consumption of processed meat."
Not all 800 studies
were used. For example, 12 of 18 cohort
studies that provided relevant data showed positive associations of colorectal
cancer with processed meats. In a meta-analysis of colorectal cancer from ten
studies, they saw an 18% increase per 50g per day of processed meats.
What about red meat?
Only 7 of
the 15 case-control studies, with relevant data, showed positive associations of
colorectal cancer with high consumption of red meat, which is a limited data set. In a meta-analysis
of colorectal cancer from ten studies, they saw an 17% increase per 100g per
day of processed meats.
However, red meat also
contains important micro-nutrients, such as B vitamins (B12, B6) and iron. It
also has high biological-value proteins. Meat also contains CoQ10, which is an
antioxidant that helps protect cells from carcinogens (also in fish, nuts, and
seeds).
Summary
"A majority of the Working Group concluded that
there is sufficient evidence in human beings for the carcinogenicity of the
consumption of processed meat." However,
for red meat, they found that there is limited evidence to support
carcinogenicity of red meat consumption. But they classify it as "probably
carcinogenic to humans".
Most people already
know processed meats are unhealthy. This is not ground breaking news folks!
And just to put things into perspective, about your risk from meat, there are over a million deaths per year from smoking, and red meats? Assuming all of the above is accurate, less than
34,000.
What should I
eat/do?
Stay away from
processed foods. Not just processed meats, but party goods, ice cream, deli,
etc.. You can also up your veggies and fruit intake - your
antioxidants. For example, grapes, strawberries, and raspberries contain
ellagic acid that can neutralize carcinogens before they mutate or damage
your DNA.
Or, if you are open
to a high quality nutrition program, take a look at
ID Nutrition, which depending on
your personal lifestyle, health, medical conditions, environmental factors,
hereditary history, allergies, and diet, can contain significant amounts of
antioxidants to help fight carcinogens.
Also stay away from artificial colors and flavorings, soda (including Diet Soda), white flour, corn syrup (your pastries) - you know the drill.
