The World Health Organisation has said in a new report that processed meats such as bacon and sausages and red meat can be linked to risks of cancer.
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The lower classification for red meat reflected “limited evidence” that it caused cancer and though the IARC found links mainly with bowel cancer, as was the case for processed meat, but it also observed associations with pancreatic and prostate cancer.
A group of researchers from the IARC evaluated more than 800 studies from many countries about the association between meat and cancer.
It also add that grilling, pan frying or cooking red meat at high temperatures produces the highest amounts of chemicals, suspected to cause cancer.
“Processed meats fall into the same category that cigarette smoking does with lung cancer”, says Alok Khorana, M.D., Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at Cleveland Clinic.
Processed meat was defined as any meat that has been subject to any processes that boost flavor or improve preservation, including salting, curing and smoking. “Therefore, these results are important in enabling governments and worldwide regulatory agencies to conduct risk assessments, in order to balance the risks and benefits of eating red meat and processed meat and to provide the best possible dietary recommendations”. Examples of these foods include bacon, ham, salami and hot dogs.
The global Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO’s cancer agency, analyzed decades of research on the subject and issued its most definitive statement yet.
The IARC classified the suspected carcinogens into 5 groups on the basis of the evidence that supported how likely a substance or activity can lead to cancer.
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The IARC has included processed meat in its group 1 list, for which there is “sufficient evidence” of links to cancer. Avoiding red meat in the diet is not a protective strategy against cancer. “It’s that you shouldn’t eat a lot of meat or especially processed meat every day”, said Dr. Susan Whiting, a professor of nutrition and dietetics with the University of Saskatchewan.
