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Processed Meat Increases Colonic Cancer Risk
The traditional English breakfast, the fry up, has yet more bad press. In addition to the problems of its high salt, high fat, high cholesterol and it generally being very bad for you – it is commonly referred to as being a “heart attack on a plate”, researchers have discovered that eating too much processed meat, which includes sausages and bacon, causes a 63 per cent higher risk of developing bowel cancer. Bowel cancer is on of the biggest cancer killers in the UK and USA, but it is often overlooked, with lung cancer and breast cancer receiving most attention.
The evidence is so strong the World Cancer Research Fund suggests that we should pretty much give up processed meats completely. The WCRF warned that eating 150g of processed meat a day – equivalent to about two sausages and three rashers of bacon – increases bowel cancer risk by 63 per cent.
Medical and scientific expert for the World Cancer Research Fund, Professor Martin Wiseman, said:
“For some people, having a fry-up with bacon and sausages might seem like a good way to start the day. But if you are doing this regularly, then you are significantly increasing your risk of bowel cancer, which is one of the most common cancers in the UK. Only a third of people are aware of the link between processed meat and cancer. This means two-thirds are not in a position to make an informed choice about how much of it they eat.” Professor Martin Wiseman, 2008
This research only confirms what has been suggested by studies for many years. Colonic cancer is a real problem, and empirical evidence has for a long time shown the relationship between the over consumption of red meat and processed meat with the development of bowel cancer.
However, as we know, eating a full English breakfast everyday also leads to weight gain in a majority of cases. Professor Wiseman is quick to point out that:
As well as the processed meat increasing the risk of bowel cancer, fry-ups also tend to be high in calories. We recommend people limit consumption of high- calorie, or energy- dense, foods because eating them regularly makes you more likely to gain weight. This is important because there is convincing evidence that excess body fat increases the risk of six types of cancer.
The actual reason for the increased risk of bowel cancer is not clear, but studies have made it clear that healthy diet alone can reduce the the likelihood of all forms of cancer occurring by approximately 30%. This means that 1 in 3 cancer sufferers may have been able to prevent their illness simply by eating a healthy diet. When you combine this with the fact that smoking causes a majority of lung cancers, a good diet and healthy lifestyle has the potential to reduce cancer by about 70%. All that is needed is to change the eating habits of a nation.
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