If processed meat products can not be avoided, those marked with labels indicating “no nitrites or nitrates” should be chosen. There is also research suggesting that meat consumption helped improve cognitive function, allowing early humans to assert superiority over competing species.
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The IARC’s mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer control. Other substances in the group include alcohol, asbestos and tobacco. The link between red meat and colon cancer is not as strong as with processed meat, so researchers placed it into the group 2A list, which is a category of items that “might” have a link to cancer.
Red meat on sale at Hamarwayne market in Mogadishu, Somalia.
How did they reach these conclusions?
Eating red meat is “probably” likely to cause cancer, while processed meat is a definite carcinogen, United Nations health experts announced Monday, according to the United Nations multimedia.
However Marshall said the risk associated with eating meat is relatively modest.
Not necessarily, but experts are warning you should probably cut down.
The final version of the guidelines should provide a more precise idea of how much Processed Meat and Red Meat is appropriate. The study estimated that a daily intake of 50gms of processed meat can increase the risk of colorectal cancer by about 18 percent. The average person’s lifetime risk for colon cancer is 4.5 percent. Or, as the New York Times puts it, your chance of developing colorectal cancer rises by a factor of about 1,1 or 1,2 for every serving of processed meat consumed per day. “What they’re saying is if you eat it, eat less of it and buy it from sources that have produced it better”. You could try having fish for your dinner rather than sausages, or choosing to have a bean salad for lunch over a BLT. It’s about how much we eat, as well as our diet overall.
How have those in the meat industry responded?
So, in a state like Texas where cattle and beef are exported across the globe, could the report hurt the industry?
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According to WHO’s global Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the method involved in processing meat can lead to the build-up of carcinogenic chemicals. In fact comparing red meat to smoking is ridiculous.
