Some food news takes a little longer to digest. The recent report from the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) linking processed and red meats to cancer risk sounded the alarm for lots of folks who love bacon and bologna. But as the smoke clears and nutrition experts weigh in, the best advice remains one of balance and moderation. "If you eat a hot dog every day, that might be a problem, " says registered dietitian Carol Ireton-Jones, who specializes in oncology. "I suggest limiting processed meats such as salami, hot dogs and bacon to two to three times per week."
How much is too much? Consuming 50 grams (about two ounces) of processed meats per day is the amount identified by the IARC as increasing risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent. So besides reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, this presents another argument for enjoying bacon with your eggs perhaps only once or twice a week.
Here’s a quote from the WHO report from Dr. Kurt Straif, head of the IARC Monographs Programme: “For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed.”
The IARC working group met in Lyon, France, which ironically is one of the gastronomic centers of France with no shortage of charcuterie on the menu. Their mission was to review more than 800 studies that investigated associations of more than a dozen types of cancer with the consumption of red meat and processed meat worldwide.
Here’s the meat of the IARC evaluation:
Processed meat is "carcinogenic to humans": "based on sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer"
Red meat is "probably carcinogenic to humans": "there is limited evidence in human beings for the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat."
The director of the IARC, Dr. Christopher Wild acknowledged, “At the same time, red meat has nutritional value.”
What to eat more of
Cancer is complex so it’s unrealistic to identify a single food as a cause for the disease. But, since there are lots of foods linked to reducing the risk of cancer, Atlanta registered dietitian Kelly Schriver of Super Hero Sports Nutrition says, “I like to focus on the laundry list of foods we should be eating more of. If a little bit of bacon gets you to eat more broccoli, then it’s a healthy thing.”
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