Diets and Nutrition
Diets and Nutrition
Are Processed Meats Carcinogenic? Everything You Need to Know
By Kiwilimón - 2018-10-16T09:24:43.171798Z
A study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer came to light this week. It states that processed meat and red meat may cause or increase the risk of colorectal, pancreatic, and prostate cancer. It's alarming news, but like all such studies, it has its nuances. Today we tell you what you need to know about the news and how to take care of yourself.
- First of all, it is important to make a distinction; what the study says is that processed meats increase the risk of cancer, which is different from causing it. This means they promote the possibility of suffering from the disease, but they are not the main triggers.
- There is also a difference between processed meat and red meat. The first category has been classified as level 1: carcinogenic to humans. Meanwhile, red meat is several steps lower in the "probably carcinogenic" category, as there is not enough evidence to support that it is also so.
- In group 1, where processed meats are located, we also find tobacco and asbestos.
- Now, this does not mean that eating meat is as likely to cause cancer as smoking at all. The study states that for every 50 grams of processed meat consumed daily, the risk of developing colorectal cancer increases by 18%.
- To put it into perspective, people who smoke 20 cigarettes a day increase their chances of developing cancer by 2400%.
- The foods that should be replaced or consumed less frequently according to the study are: cold cuts like sausage and chorizo, cured meats like ham, and fatty processed cuts like bacon.
- Although the study reflects a real danger, one should not fall into the trend of believing that eating meat, by itself, causes cancer; there are many factors that contribute to the same end. After all, nothing in excess.
