WHO Report Links Processed & Red Meat To Colorectal Cancers

Every day a new report comes out about what we are eating is going to kill us. Next......

I just watched the nightly news...and they were screaming bloody murder about the study and the bias of it all...

They say (the French meats federation) that they (the study) do not take into account the difference between natural 'cold-cuts' (processed meats) made without nitrite and nitrates and the junk that you buy in plastic blister packs in the grocery store.

There is a long tradition of 'natural' processed foods and high quality meats (grass fed, mountain grass etc) raised in the great outdoors...which they claim doesn't hurt you (as much?)

Basically they say that 75gms of meat a day is ok (like anyone is going to eat only 75grs per meal (that would be about 2.5 coctail weaners!))...more like eat a good healthy meat meal once or twice a week and veggies or fish the other days.

I guess that the bottom line is still the same...eat less but more naturally and healthy...

Works for me.

Sharon

ps...by now I realise that anything that I put in my mouth is liable to kill me one way or the other (meds are toxic, soft drinks kill the metabolism, meat is cancerogene, candy gives you diabetes...) and so is anything that I do (walking/biking in city is bad for the lungs, swimming in a cholinated pool is toxic...)

So pick your poison...live, laugh, love and enjoy...all in moderation

S

I noticed that the report says it increases the chances of colorectal cancer specifically. Since we don't have colons, can we eat as much salami as we want?  

Elisa, our risk of colorectal cancer is indeed extremely low. OTOH, if I eat too much salami I get heartburn, and I get a bit larger. Choose your poison. 

Elisa W,

If you have a J Pouch, you have a rectal cuff which is a remaining part of your colon and that is why I posted this article.  If cancer strikes, that is where it will develop.  Although the incident of J Pouch cancers is low, when they develop they develop in the cuff, which is colonic tissue.  A Cleveland Clinic study a few years back showed some cancers developing in the cuff in chronic pouchitis patients with severe or very long chronic pouchitis and/or a history of dysplasia in the colon.  I am on an annual scope cycle for just these reasons (chronic pouchitis PLUS dyplasia), and so are many others.

Good info, although I don't know how new it is. Cured meats and red meat have been on the "list" for quite some time. I figure if I eat a varied diet with a lot of fresh food, that's as good as it is going to get. Between air pollution, plastics, cosmic radiation, etc., we are all doomed, so I try not to worry too much. At least I quit smoking decades ago!

Jan

Is this really a surprise?  It's not as if bacon and cured meats are health foods.  I'm surprised by how many people are surprised??

Sue 

To repeat again, the one piece of information that I think is new is the report's linkage to colorectal cancers specifically.  I think everyone knows processed meats are not healthy generally.

Actually, this is not new and the colorectal cancer link with meat, especially cured meats has been around for years. What is new is that there is just more evidence so they can speak with more authority.

For example, from 2008: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2661797/

Still, it is about dose. Just like anything else, it is the dose that makes the poison. But, it is a good reminder to not focus your diet on any one thing (even if you really, really love it).

Jan

I suppose that if one is gorging oneself with sausages with nitrates and bacon cheeseburgers, heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholestorol will be competing for attention with colorectal cancers. I wonder, however, for those of us who already have some risk factors like dysplasia and chronic cuffitis, how much a modest ingestion of sausages and bacon will increase the risk further.  What is the risk calculus and how much is it augmented with each bite of bacon, each mouthful of sausage and pepperoni?

I agree with Jan and others here, in that none of this information is really new to me. Not too many years ago, I recall that a report came out warning of the dangers of charred meat - essentially BBQ'd and grilled meats, as well as a general warning to avoid cured and processed meats. Bacon, in fact, was considered carcinogenic to the point that it should be eaten at most 2-3 times per year.  So again, none of this information is really new or different than what I've read before.

What I take away from the study is a message that people should choose red meat and processed meats less often -- basically the "everything in moderation" diet, which itself is also nothing new. Unfortunately, I doubt much will really change. I've already seen a number of articles attempting to debunk this study. Not to mention, a few years ago, a study also came out that indicated that fried foods, particularly french fries, were probably carcinogenic. And yet, fry consumption remains stable.  On the flipside, I find it curious that so many people have so freely jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon and eschewed bread, pasta, and other wheat-based carbs which are staples in many diets.  I'm certainly not knocking gluten-free diets for those who actually require them, but as a fad diet, it still baffles me, especially when there's no solid scientific evidence to support it for those who do not have Celiac disease, a wheat allergy, or else another medical condition for which it's indicated (for instance epilepsy, which can sometimes be controlled with dietary changes including gluten-free, lactose free, and FODMAPS). Yet the warning about meat comes straight from the WHO and the general public ignores it or refutes it. It's just curious to me what ends up becoming a trend and dictating our eating habits, and what doesn't.

Sadly, for majority of people in America, I don't think people are going to change their eating habits regardless of what they hear or know on this topic (as this isn't new news).  Personally, since they finally started making nitrate-free versions of pretty much all processed meats (lunch meat, bacon, salami, pepperoni, sausage, hot dogs), that's all I buy now for our family.  It cracks me up though how they package these nitrate-free options for the same price and taste and most people will pick the package right next to it that is packed full of nitrates.