Bacon and cancer: why you should be careful with what you eat

By Yousrah Sukkar on November 2, 2015

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40726522@N02/5131467189/in/photolist-8Ps7qe-nMsY3-8BuNzU-qJjw8q-nW2kaU-8j3Twr-3pN7p1-dWTUa5-7mpnC2-5bekL2-7gTZN-5SSXjJ-6e1JX-MiY7E-9porLy-9asPwG-rCX33w-4ke7w6-4p3aQK-9a7S5t-8kK5aa-nm1RQC-crWaub-apkqvM-3gAve-rQKA5-5wYRCE-66H6G3-66H6jy-acvRJ4-nxBUNf-vtk6rL-8uFA64-ct87rE-5bekZK-5snY3f-4DacZV-gvSToJ-5vyeFm-bqEo7r-9GafEQ-bVA1wN-KnXme-9YXnSo-8vvyqE-5Xe3MV-dKNW79-avtEqo-ecS32x-7FHnFoSo I’m sure you all have read the news lately: red meat and processed meats are apparently carcinogenic. According to the experts at the Word Health Organization, 50 g of processed meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18% (colorectal cancer, if you do not know, is a form of cancer that affects the cells of the colon or the rectum. It is often referred to as bowel cancer.) Processed meats include bacon, salami, hot dogs, and sausages. Basically, if it was smoked or aged, its a carcinogen. They were actually placed as a group 1 carcinogen along with cigarettes and alcohol. A diet high in processed meats may cause around 34,000 cancer deaths across the globe annually, and 21% of all colorectal cancers are caused by consumption of processed meats.

Red meat, on the other hand, was lower on the carcinogenic scale. While there definitely was a link between cancer and red meat, it was labeled as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A), based on  limited evidence that  the  consumption of red meat  causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect. What this means is while there definitely a link between red meat and cancer, it was not nearly as strong as processed meats was. As long as you significantly lower your intake of red meats you should be fine.

So what does that mean to you, a college student? What this means is while it is so much easier to cook a pack of hot dogs or pop open a cheap can of processed meats, you might want to reconsider that. Try buying chicken breast or other forms of protein that are not processed. You don’t want to fill your body up with cheap, delicious, but carcinogenic food.  Consume a diet rich in fibre, with fruits and vegetables and maintain an adequate body weight throughout life. Remember: everything you eat today will effect you in the long run, so try to stay healthy while you still can!

 

For more on colorectal cancer:

http://www.cancer.gov/types/colorectal

For the world health organization’s International Agency for Research (IARC) on Cancer report:

http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf

http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Monographs-Q&A_Vol114.pdf

Other sources that you could look at and form your own opinion on this:

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34615621

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/301553.php

 

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