WHO: Processed Meats Cause Cancer, akin to Smoking
The World Health Organization says processed meats cause cancer.
This severe warning puts processed meats in the category of smoking and asbestos. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a division of the WHO specifically focused on cancer risk, has designated processed meats into the high "Group 1" category, definitively stating the products as, "carcinogenic to humans."
They base their warning on a thorough review of more than 800 scientific studies surrounding the link between processed meats and certain cancers like colon and pancreatic.
Processed meats are things like lunchmeat, hot dogs, bacon and sausage. The IARC defines processed meat as any type of meat that is salted, cured or smoked to enhance its flavor or preserve it.
Scientists say the main problem with processed meats causing cancer are the added nitrites or nitrates. Those are chemicals that preserve the meats and add color and flavor.
The good news is that while most processed meats contain preservatives, not all do. Therefore health experts recommend only consuming organic processed meats marked with labels indicating "no nitrites or nitrates."
The report says eating a small amount of processed meat each day, about two ounces, or approximately two slices of bacon, raises the risk of cancer by 18 percent.
The organization states that 34,000 deaths worldwide each year can be attributed to eating processed meats, out of a total number of over 8 million cancer deaths.
"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," Dr Kurt Straif, with the IARC, said in a statement.
In addition to the warning that processed meats cause cancer, the IARC issued a less severe warning about unprocessed red meat, such as steak or hamburger. They indicate it is "probably carcinogenic," placing it in the lesser "Group 2A" category.
The IARC did not distinguish between research on industrially raised cattle and grass-fed cattle.
Health experts say the difference is stark. For instance, Dr. Jayson Calton, author of, The Micronutrient Miracle (ITALICS), says most animals are raised inside factory farms and are fed unhealthy grains and antibiotics and injected with steroids.
"They're being fed up to seven pounds a day of stale candy and chocolate bars that these candy manufacturers are throwing at these farmers and saying, 'Hey, fatten up the cattle with this. It will spike their insulin.You'll get more marbling in the meat, you'll be able to sell the meat and it will taste better,'" Calton said. "This is just, to me, an abomination."
On the other hand, he says it's substantially healthier to eat meat from cows that live in pastures, eating organic grass.
"Now what's going to happen when the animal is out in the sunshine, absorbing the vitamin D, eating the grass, they're going to have over 400% more vitamin A and vitamin E in that meat," he explained.
"There's going to be 300 percent more of something called CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid. This is a kind of fat that science thinks is going to help prevent cancer," he said. "It's also a kind of fat to help burn our body fat. This is a fat that these cows can really only get when they eat grass."
In fact, despite the warning about red meat, the WHO concedes it still has "nutritional value."
Americans who are trying to decide what's healthiest to eat should know most nutrition experts agree diets high in vegetables and proteins like fish and poultry are best. But small amounts of grass-fed red meat are acceptable, as are small amounts of organic, nitrate and nitrite-free processed meats.
