Hot dogs, sausages and bacon cause colon cancer, and pork, beef and lamb are most likely carcinogenic meats. This conclusion was reached by an international team of experts after analyzing more than 800 scientific papers that revealed a connection between cancer and the consumption of processed or red meat by people in different countries.
Edition of The Washington Post immediately christened This discovery was one of the most aggressive attacks by major health associations against meat consumption and predicted a storm of criticism in the United States. Nevertheless, the researchers themselves ask not to rush to completely abandon meat and not to exaggerate the scale of the results obtained.
What did scientists rely on?
It all started when, in 2014, addressing the consequences of eating red meat and processed meats was made a high priority by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). In 2015, more than 20 experts from 10 different countries analyzed more than 800 studies assessing the link between consumption of processed or red meat and cancer.
Scientists found There is enough evidence to suggest that eating processed meat causes bowel cancer. What is processed meat? This is meat that has been salted, canned, fermented, smoked or otherwise processed to enhance flavor or increase shelf life. These are all scientists determined The first group includes substances that are carcinogenic to humans. It is worth noting that smoking also falls into the first category, but this does not mean that it is equivalent to meat in its effect.
The situation with red meat is a little different. It is a possible cause of stomach and pancreatic cancer. However, this connection is much more difficult for scientists to prove, as a result of which these types of meat carried the second category includes products that, based on a limited amount of evidence, are found to be carcinogenic to humans.
It is worth understanding that “sufficient evidence” is the results of animal experiments, studies of nutrition and human health (including large cohort or population studies) and so-called mechanical causes, such as the cellular mechanism of cancer. By “limited evidence,” scientists mean that red meat is likely carcinogenic to humans, as studies have found a link between meat consumption and colorectal cancer.
How dangerous is meat?
According to calculations According to the Global Burden of Disease Project, approximately 34,000 cancer deaths worldwide are associated with excessive consumption of processed meat. A menu with a high content of red meat is also harmful, but in the absence of direct evidence, scientists refer to approximate figures – 50,000 deaths per year. By comparison, smoking causes more than a million deaths, and excessive alcohol consumption causes about 600,000.
The risk of developing colorectal cancer from processed meat is very small, but increases in proportion to the amount consumed. To be precise, eating 50g of processed meat daily increases the relative risk of colorectal cancer is 18%, and 100g of red meat increases the risk by 17%.
It’s easier to understand how eating red and processed meat affects your risk of developing bowel cancer: according to research According to scientists, out of every thousand people in the UK, 61 people will develop bowel cancer at some stage in their lives. As the amount of meat products consumed decreases, the risk also decreases – 56 cases for every thousand people who eat a minimum of meat. The reverse is also true: among 1,000 people who ate a lot of processed meat, 10 more cases of bowel cancer were expected than in the previous study group.
How much meat can you eat
According to Christopher Wild, who headed the IARC in 2015, the data obtained then confirmed the need to limit meat consumption. At the same time, red meat has nutritional value, which means that everything is not so simple and international regulatory authorities will have to assess the risks and adjust healthy eating recommendations.
Experts advise not only reducing meat consumption, but also improving its quality and adding a lot of whole grains and vegetables to the diet: the fiber they contain prevents the development of cancer.
Thus, meat rich in protein, iron and zinc should not be excluded from the diet. It is only important to eat it not too much and infrequently.
The consumption rate for red and processed meat is no more than 500 g per week, or 70 g per day.
If you’re used to eating more, replace red meat with chicken, turkey or fish and add fiber – fruits and vegetables. Or consider vegetarianism.
This material was first published in November 2015. In April 2024, we updated and reviewed it with a trusted evidence-based physician.
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