Processed Meats and Cancer

A review of more than 7,000 clinical studies examining the connection between diet and cancer came to a stark conclusion: No one should eat processed meats.

The World Cancer Research Fund came to the following conclusion: "There is strong evidence that processed meats are causes of bowel cancer, and that there is no amount of processed meat that can be confidently show not to increase risk. Try to avoid processed meats such as bacon, ham, salami, pastrami, pepperoni, hot dogs, corned beef, and some sausages."

Processed meats are those preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or the addition of chemical preservatives such as as nitrates. The nitrates found in processed meats are frequently converted into nitrosamines, which are clearly associated with an increased risk of certain cancers.

meats cooked at high temperatures, as many processed meats often are, can also contain as many as 20 different kinds of heterocyclic amines, or HCAs for short. These substances are also linked to cancer. In terms of HCAs, the worst part of the meat is the blackened section, which is why you should always avoid charring your meat, and never eat blackened sections.

Many processed meats are also smoked as part of the curing process and smoking is a well-known cause of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which enter your food during the smoking process.

There may be other factors at play as well, but at the very least it's known that eating processed meats exposes you to at least three cancer-causing substances: Nitrates and Nitrites (leading to nitrosamines), heterocyclic amines, and ploycyclic aromic hydrocarbons.

A 2007 analysis by WCRF found that EATING JUST ONE SAUSAGE A DAY can significantly raise your risk of bowel cancer. Specifically, 1.8 ounces of processed meat daily-about one sausage or three pieces of bacon-raises the likelihood of the cancer by 20 percent.

Other studies have also found that processed meats increase your risk of:

Colon cancer by 50 percent

Bladder cancer by 59 percent

Stomach cancer by 38 percent

Pancreatic cancer by 67 percent

Hot dogs, bacon, salami and other processed meats may also increase your risk of diabetes by 50 percent, and lower your lung function and increase your risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

People who eat processed meats regularly also tend to eat fewer vegetables than others.