RED MEAT RISK: Studies link red meat to bowel cancer
July 03, 2019 • 1 min read
-- News to make meat lovers choke on their next foot-long Knackwurst – eating red meat marks you for cancer.
A new five-year study shows that even moderate amounts of red and processed meat increase the risk of bowel cancer. What’s more, the study also found that every bottle of beer or small glass of wine raises bowel cancer risk.
Sheesh, summer BBQs are now a health minefield. But in better news, eating lots of fibre lowers cancer risk.
But don’t ditch your BBQ just yet
Throw a steak on the BBQ – just make it a small one. Data from the study of half a million British men and women (of whom 2,609 developed bowel cancer during the research project) showed that those who ate around 76g of red and processed meat a day on average had a 20% higher chance of developing bowel cancer than those who ate about 21g a day.
Processed meat is an even riskier proposition, boosting cancer risk by 19% with every 25g of processed meat eaten daily. This compares to an 18% increase with every 50g of red meat, and an 8% increase for each bottle of beer or small glass of wine.
Still, there are plenty of healthy options to sizzle on the BBQ. The study did not find any link between bowel cancer risk and fish, poultry, cheese, and vegetables.
The World Health Organization classifies processed meat as carcinogenic and red meat as a probable carcinogen.