Red Meat and Processed Meat

Lifestyle Parenting, Household Affairs and Cuisine corner
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071211/hl_nm/cancer_meat_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who eat a lot of red meat and processed meats have a higher risk of several types of cancer, including lung cancer and colorectal cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

The work is the first big study to show a link between meat and lung cancer. It also shows that people who eat a lot of meat have a higher risk of liver and esophageal cancer and that men raise their risk of pancreatic cancer by eating red meat.

**“A decrease in the consumption of red and processed meat could reduce the incidence of cancer at multiple sites,” **Dr. Amanda Cross and colleagues at the U.S. National Cancer Institute wrote in their report, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine.

The researchers studied 500,000 people aged 50 to 71 who took part in a diet and health study done in conjunction with the AARP, formerly the American Association for Retired Persons.

After eight years, 53,396 cases of cancer were diagnosed.

"Statistically significant elevated risks (ranging from 20 percent to 60 percent) were evident for esophageal, colorectal, liver, and lung cancer, comparing individuals in the highest with those in the lowest quintile of red meat intake," the researchers wrote.

The people in the top 20 percent of eating processed meat had a 20 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer – mostly rectal cancer – and a 16 percent higher risk for lung cancer.

“Furthermore, red meat intake was associated with an elevated risk for cancers of the esophagus and liver,” the researchers wrote.

These differences held even when smoking was accounted for.

“Red meat intake was not associated with gastric or bladder cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, or melanoma,” added the researchers, whose study is freely available on the Internet at http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document& doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0040325.

Red meat was defined as all types of beef, pork and lamb. Processed meat included bacon, red meat sausage, poultry sausage, luncheon meats, cold cuts, ham and most types of hot dogs including turkey dogs.

Meats can cause cancer by several routes, the researchers noted. “For example, they are both sources of saturated fat and iron, which have independently been associated with carcinogenesis,” the researchers wrote.

Meat is also a source of several chemicals known to cause DNA mutations, including N-nitroso compounds (NOCs), heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Jeanine Genkinger of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Anita Koushik of the University of Montreal said the findings fit in with other research.

“Meat consumption in relation to cancer risk has been reported in over a hundred epidemiological studies from many countries with diverse diets,” they wrote in a commentary.

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I know quite a few people who stick to chicken and I guess I can understand why they do that.

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Re: Red Meat and Processed Meat

what the hell, so they waste all their time on just red meat and not go into the bigger issue which is processed meat ... talking about how preservatives in deli meat have been linked to cancer. why do they do that?

PS: sticking to chicken when its popeyes fried chicken or butter chicken or ghee filled salans wont cut it either :)

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Re: Red Meat and Processed Meat

I agree X2....I dont think its red meat so much as processing of it, what they feed them and inject into them. And then the things they do to the meat...makes you shudder to think about it. I read a novel "Toxin" by Dr Robin Cook, if THAT doesnt scare you about buying processed meat then nothing will! And the book is true-to-life, he wrote it in the hope of reforming the beef industry in the USA. When we went on our trip out west this summer, I saw the most staggeringly amazing "beef farm" that went on and on literally for more than 10 miles with thousands upon thousands of cows waiting their turn for the processing plant. No way no how they can cull out all of the sick ones.

theres nothing better than really good wholesome steak imho, I'm a total meat-a-saurus lol! But the more its left alone in its natural state - no drugs, no preservatives, no hormones etc etc the better it is. Thats a lovely thing over in pak, where you actually pick out your own animal and have it butchered yourself - you see what you're getting and where it came from and you can at least get an idea of its history.

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Re: Red Meat and Processed Meat

***So from this research we can Safely conclude that those on a Vegetarian Diet will out live the Red Meat Eaters…

Therefore we should be able to find the longest living cancer free people in Vegetarian Countries like India…Right.

I wonder What is major cause of death for vegetarians in India?..:daaghu2::desimunda:

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Re: Red Meat and Processed Meat

Im no scientist and dont have links to provide but I seem to remember reading that the healthiest, longest living people with the lowest cancer rates are orientals. Their diets are whole grains and rice, fish and poultry with red meats in small amounts. But the foods they eat are SO much closer to nature than our foods - we have "enriched" flour, processed and medicated meats etc etc. I think the more we interfere with mother nature, the more pissed off she gets.

~~~ Missing someone ~~~
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Re: Red Meat and Processed Meat

Apart from what they do to cows these days, red meat most definately has a high saturated fat content and a high iron content. Saturated fat isnt good for you any which way you look at it.

I agree, eating KFC and the like isnt either lol.

And yes, processed meats...best to avoid altogether.

I dont know who lives the longest, but if its the chinese, indeed their diet is mostly fish and poultry.

Mama, I agree, white flour is best to avoid. White bread has very little nutrition to offer.

let's translate SIGNS in Urdu, English or Hindi
let's translate SIGNS in Urdu, English or Hindi
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Re: Red Meat and Processed Meat

but lean cuts of red meat can compete with chicken, as a matter of fact lean beef is better than dark meat from chicken.

if we are talking the fat and all, then its cuts of meat as well as how its cooked, charbroil it and u have carcinogens, deep fry it and u have a diff issue, have it in heavy gravy full of ghee or butter and u have another issue.

longest living ppl are japanese, so sushi around the house :)

mamaof3 I agree with your views too, we have simply monkeyed around too much with food. I try to buy meat from local sources, grassfed cattle free from hormones and anitbiotics.

and u know what, try gettin organic milk, and then compare with the usual store brand..u will notice a difference. just like u will notice a difference in milk taste consistency etc in US vs europe.

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Re: Red Meat and Processed Meat

So um where does "halal" meat fit into this? or is this going to open up a whole can of wormS?