Processed meats and cancer - will you be giving them up?

fuddle

As with everything, I'll read and make an informed choice. There will still be bacon coming through my door but maybe not as often. The same way in which I will drink alcohol about once every 3 months, don't smoke, keep toiletries and chemicals to a minimum, try but not always succeed in eating organic and refuse to consume decaff coffee as the chemicals used in that process are said to be horrific (but pass food grade tests)... heck, even my brazil nuts are radioactive!

I wonder how much of the cancer risk is the way the items are cooked too. It's well known that 'burnt bits' are carcinogenic isn't it?

I'm with the moderation train of thought. That, and informed choice. I'm pleased there's research into these things. Public health is there for the greater good I feel.

Rainy-Days

Its kind of odd because the Italian's - who are supposed to have the best diet in the world (Mediteranean) - eat allot of processed and 'cure'd meats. They live the longest, consume allot of processed pork products YET we are being told it is harmful!

Not many months ago there was a whopping great U turn on butter, full fat milk, eggs and cheese - all of which we were constantly being told - no actually having it rammed down our throats to be exact - that these foods were not just bad for us but likely to give us a coronary.

Good job I ignored that advice anyway because I have never given up lard, butter and fats in general. I have mainly organic to be exact. I have never - nor will I ever subscribe - to this low calorie crap low fat faddy idiotic notion and woohoo once again I was proved right.

There will be another U turn coming along some time soon you wait and see! Breathing these days can be cancer causing it would seem. They dug up a prehistoric man a few years ago only to find he too died of cancer!

The biggest problem we face is actually sugar. Sugar is the most addictive and dangerous substance yet that constantly gets shoved under the carpet the moment it rears it's head up. Oh and they refused to hit the manufacturers with a sugar tax - funny that!

mardatha

Absolutely agree with you Rainy-Days!

teddysmum

I wonder how wide a sample was used to obtain the results and were they done under laboratory conditions (ie with a control group) ?


If it was just a case of statistics, based on asking people about their diet , then deciding to blame preserved or red meat, what someone, replying to a newspaper article commented, is very apt ie that everyone who dies of cancer has drinks water.

ALIBOBSY

I have always kept on eating butter and am glad to say the evidence has now proved it does not cause an increase in blood cholesterol at least not the bad kind, in fact studies suggest it may in fact decrease chances of heart issues.

Some recent studies conclude there is in fact no link at all with eating saturated fat and increased risk of heart attacks/strokes.

In fact some studies have shown a worrying increase in bowel cancer risk due to eating the low fat type/processed spreads because of the negative effect they have on digestive transit.

TBH media stories rarely present the whole story and will report sound bite type headlines from single research papers and the like as absolute truth. I like to actually go and read some of the papers and make my own informed choice. Overall I have found a bit of a running theme of processed food being less healthy, so I reckon the less something is "messed with" from its original state the better it will be for you.

Ali x

THIRZAH

I 've read the report about butter not causing an increase in cholesterol too-unfortunately the practice nurse at our G.P's surgery doesn't seem to have seen it. DH and I still get the "low-fat" lecture from her.

meritaten

I think most of us on here are already eating 'healthy' foods. I don't mean we live on alfalfa sprouts, just that we are eating foods we prepare ourselves from 'scratch', rarely if ever eat processed fast foods and don't actually have the money to overindulge on red meats!
I worry about those who don't know how to cook healthy meals - have been brought up on a diet of 'junk food' and really do not realise how unhealthy it is.
for example - my DIL had hardly ever had a meal cooked from raw ingredients. her idea of dinner was of the chicken nuggets and chips or microwave ready meals.
Bless her - after living with me for six months and having to eat what was put on the table, she learned to like roast dinners, stews, salads etc. over the years she has tried very hard to learn to cook good healthy meals for her family. I no longer worry she will bring the grandkids up to survive on junk food (I have been teaching them to cook since they could stir a spoon in a bowl).
I find she is also more interested in food now...........she shops more wisely too as she found it very expensive to buy 'convenience foods'.

ALIBOBSY

OK here is a link to the WHO statement which is what these news stories are about

http://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/

So basically a group of peeps who work for WHO sat around and looked at various studies and concluded there was "sufficient" evidence to say high levels of processed meat increased the risk of one type of cancer.

TBH even a quick google shows how mixed the info on this subject is. For example some studies looked at if veggies got less bowel cancers than meat eaters and the results were very inconclusive, in fact one recent study suggested meat eaters were at lower risk than veggies.

So I go with the avoid processed stuff when possible, buy local, high welfare meat and up your veggie intake and water intake.

The reality is even from the WHO quoted estimate of 34k cancer deaths from processed meat is dwarfed by about 1 million cancer deaths per year due to tobacco smoking, 600 000 per year due to alcohol consumption, and more than 200 000 per year due to air pollution.

So given the above are we all giving up alcohol and cars and power stations? No guess not.

Ali x

grandma247

Interesting article

YORKSHIRELASS

The answer is no, because I try to eat a sensible, balanced diet. Like others on here I cook from scratch and when we do buy sausages and the like I buy the best that I can afford. I think OH probably eats slightly too much of these kinds of meats but he is an adult and its up to him!

I do worry about these messages getting out there and confusing people though. As well as the effects on those farmers who are already having a hard time of it. I am glad to see so many sensible responses on here.