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Processed meat a common cause of cancer

by D P Atukorale

The American Institute for Cancer Research and-World Cancer Research Fund-released the most comprehensive review ever compiled on nutrition and cancer risk in 2007. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, there is a strong link between processed meats like hot dogs and bacon and colorectal cancer. No amount of processed meat is considered safe. Processed meats should be avoided completely.

The term "processed meats " means those that are typically, prepared or preserved by smoking, curing or salting or by the addition of preservatives. This includes ham, bacon, pastrami and salami as well as hot dogs and sausages to which nitrites or nitrates have been added. Hamburgers and minced meats maybe included as well, depending on processing.

The reports conclusion was based on 44 case control studies (in which diets of individuals with cancer were compared with those of individuals who did not have cancer, but who were similar in other respects) and 14 cohort studies (in which diets of individuals were assessed before cancer onset, and the individuals were followed over time to track diet patterns and cancer risk).

The risk of colorectal cancer increases on average by 21 percent for every 50 grams of processed meat consumed daily. A 50 gram serving is about the size of a typical hot dog. Some studies have also linked processed meat to cancer of esophagus, lung, stomach and prostate, but evidence is more limited than for colorectal cancer.

Why do processed meats cause cancer?

From a scientific standpoint , the situation is very much like tobacco and lung cancer. There are hundreds of chemicals in tobacco smoke, but we still don’t know which chemicals cause the lung cancer.

Processed meats contain fat, especially saturated fat as well as plenty of cholesterol and salt. The nitrites that are often used as preservatives or as a colouring or as a flavouring agent can produce N-nitroso compounds, which are suspected carcinogens. In addition, meats cooked at high temperatures may contain carcinogens, including heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Heme iron is also plentiful in red and processed meats. Heme promotes the production of carcinogens and its iron content also leads to production of free radicals.

Despite the scientific consensus that these foods should never be eaten , let alone fed to children, they are still widely consumed. On average, Americans consume about 32 pounds of processed pork products each year. Bacon is routine breakfast fare for many Americans and British and processed meats grace the top of pizzas everywhere.

The National Cancer Institute predicts that in 2008, 108070 individuals will develop colon cancer, 40740 will develop rectal cancer and 49,960 will die from these conditions in 2008. Colo - rectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the USA.

In most of the developed countries in the world vegetarian options are abundant. More than 16 percent of American and adolescents are overweight. Lifetime cancer risk in USA is now one in three for women and one in two for men.

According to journal of National Cancer Institute 2006 August, one ounce of processed meat per day raises the risk of stomach cancer by 15 to 38 percent.

Who invented the hot dog ?

Many hot dog historians credit (or blame) German immigrants pushing food carts in New York City Bowery during the 1860s. One German butcher looking for a simple way to make hot sandwiches in a confined space, came up with the idea of placing a sausage in a roll and he went on the open the first Coney Island hot dog stand.

According to German Chancellor Otto Van Bismark , "there are two things you don’t want to see being made: sausage and legislation".

Reference :
Good Medicine; Summer 2008,
Volume xvii, No. 3, pages 6-8

Actually, all animal proteins cause cancer, they are more acidic than vegetable proteins. Cancer thrives in an acidic environment, so if you can get your body's ph to be alkaline the cancers stop growing. People who have "recovered" from cancers by eating alkaline foods, always have to stay on that alkaline diet for life or they will see their cancers returning.

The charts on this webpage show the ph value of certain foods to your body (this is not the way that they taste, but the effect the foods have on the ph of the body after they have been digestested. So on this chart the sweet sugars are acidic and the acidic lemons are alkaline). The chart at the very bottom is my favorite because it gives the actual number of the ph value of the foods, and you can see that the only thing more acidic than meat is artificial sweeteners! All the flours and sugars and meats (the stuff we eat all time) are all down there on the very acidic end of the ph spectrum. No wonder everyone gets cancers :-(

Thanks Voyager. You really are on a roll when it comes to the idea of getting away from processed meats!

But, I agree that all of these preserving/curing agents are all chemical and cannot be good for us.

Miascute, I agree that keeping our bodies ph levels more alkaline has its advantages for sure. However, there are times when we want it more acidic. Certain micro colonies set up shop in our bodies if the balance is not more acidic. Yeast (not just where we usually think of it growing) is one, including our intestines.

The other thing that I noticed in looking through the lists of acidic and alkaline foods is the idea that in eating towards a more basic ph level, a lot of excellent proteins are cut out of the loop, which contain amino acids that our bodies cannot manufacture and need. Yes, they can be replaced with supplements, but we don't necessarily know if the supplements are absorbed and used in the same fashion as what our bodies do during digestion to get it into our systems or utilize it in the same ways. Even certain beans are listed as acidic so even vegetarians are going to find it difficult to get the same components.

Next, I've also noticed that in taking out some of the more "colorful" foods from the basic ph level foods, there could be a lack of certain enzymes, nutrients, etc., such as lycopenes and betacarotenes. Again, there are supplements available for these replacements as well but, are they utilized by the body in the same way and to the same degree as from natural sources?

Then, there's the idea that things such as salmon and other heart protective foods, are also omitted by the basic ph level foods. Ok, yet again, we have Omega 3-6-9 supplements to take.

However, in every case that we find a deficiency of something that we can supplement for, it begs the question of why don't we just sit down to a meal of supplements and save ourselves a pile of calories?

My grandparents all lived well into their mid 80's to mid 90's in age. There was nothing that was "off limits" in their diets. The only differences were that they ate unprocessed foods and they ate everything in moderation. Nothing was in excess and not much was processed. It was all grown in their gardens, raised in their backyards and cooked at home.

Honestly, I really feel that our bodies are treating preservatives as foreign substances and any organ in our bodies that holds these preservatives/chemicals in more abundant forms are going to become the areas of our bodies that react by growing cancers. I also feel that mutated strains of bacteria and viral mutations also come into play in the disruption of DNA encoding which sends cells haywire in our bodies and causes them to reproduce abnormally and into cancers. Our bodies are fighting and rebelling against these "foreign" substances.

I do believe that we need to more healthfully and holistic but, I also don't feel that removing a good portion of foods from our diets is the answer either. By removing one type of food, we are also removing certain components from them that are beneficial to our bodies in one way or another too. Certainly, staying away from as much processed and preserved foods as possible is a desireable thing. But, can we go too far and become too fanatical for our own good?

Interesting discussion!

I work for Stonyfield Farm right now (you might recognize the Brown Cow or Danone-Dannon name). Stonyfield makes everything absolutely organic and all natural - nothing you can't pronounce or spell is in their yogurts, milk, frozen yogurt. No artificial colors, sugars, anything. I read MANY articles on going green and organic as part of my job with Stonyfield and you would be AMAZED at all the 'crap' that companies put into our food. It's gross. Although I have been eating it all for 40 years, I'm amazed I'm still as healthy as I am with all those chemicals and I'm not surprised at all that it's linked with sicknesses around the world.

I realize that going organic can be expensive since it can be up to 50% higher than non-organic foods, but if you read what I read you'd drop that processed stuff and run. I still am choosing to go 'greener' with as much as I can afford, especially food.

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