"Put down the bacon! Report emphasizes cancer-fat links"

[AnCap Dave]

There is more evidence than ever that a person who weighs too much is more likely to develop cancer, a landmark report said Wednesday.

And forget eating bacon, sausage and lunchmeat. No amount is considered completely safe, according to the analysis from the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund.

An international panel of experts reviewed more than 7,000 large-scale studies and spent five years developing the report (www.dietandcancerreport.org).

Excess body fat increases the risk of cancer of the colon, kidney, pancreas, esophagus and uterus as well as postmenopausal breast cancer, the report says.

READ THE REPORT: No amount of processed meat considered completely safe

"This was a much larger impact than even the researchers expected," says Karen Collins, a cancer institute nutrition adviser. "People forget body fat is not an inert glob that we are carrying around on the waistline and thighs. It's a metabolically active tissue that produces substances in the body that promote the development of cancer."

Michael Thun, head of epidemiological research for the American Cancer Society, says, "People are not paying nearly enough attention to the relationship between obesity and increased cancer risk." The report also found:

•Every 1.7 ounces of processed meat consumed a day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 21%.

"This is a wake-up call for people who eat hot dogs or pepperoni pizza regularly," Collins says. "They need to be looking for other alternatives. But you can still occasionally have a hot dog."

There could be several reasons why processed meats may increase cancer risk. Carcinogens have been linked to smoked meat and the nitrates and excess salt in processed meats, Collins says.

•The evidence linking red meat intake (beef, pork and lamb) to colorectal cancer is more convincing than it was a decade ago, the report says. It advises limiting red meat to 18 ounces of cooked meat a week. The cancer risk is minimal for people who eat that amount, but beyond that the risk increases, Collins says.

•Alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, breast, colon and liver.

The report is drawing fire from the food industry.

Ceci Snyder, a registered dietitian with the National Pork Board, which represents pork producers, says, "The U.S. Dietary Guidelines include meat and processed meat, and those guidelines are based on a review of the scientific evidence."

Mary Young of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association says the group engaged scientists to review the scientific literature on the topic, and they concluded there is no evidence red meat causes cancer.

A separate survey of 1,022 adults, also released Wednesday by the cancer institute, showed that 39% say cancer is their top health concern and 49% say it's highly unlikely they can do anything to prevent cancer. "Let's not be afraid anymore," Collins says. "There is something you can do about it."

Well, why don't we just go and say everything everyone enjoys is deadly.

[Travis Retriever]

If the scaremongers really want to be 100% guaranteed safe they were born in the wrong universe.

[AnCap Dave]

If the scaremongers really want to be 100% guaranteed safe they were born in the wrong universe.

Funny enough, they said that this is for processed meats, but some organic stuff is "perfectly healthy."

[Travis Retriever]

Funny enough, they said that this is for processed meats, but some organic stuff is "perfectly healthy."

A claim of theirs that has no basis in reality:  http://www.cracked.com/article_17084_5-ways-people-are-trying-to-save-world-that-dont-work.html (#5 on the list).

And for the heck of it:  http://www.cracked.com/funny-5412-organic-food/

[Goaticus]

While I don't eat a lot of processed meat like lunchables I do eat bacon. I eat at least 2 pounds of meat a day, more than half of that is red meat. My triglycerides are 90 mg/ dL and my cholesterol is 138. HdL is 45. Ldl is 84 and vLdl is 9. I am 5'8" and weigh 170 lbs. according to the BMI I am overweight. My body fat is 4.5%. I have been following a paleolithic diet for two years and at the age of 34 I still get carded if I drink. My hobby is Mixed Martial Arts and I have no problem taking on 25 year olds.

One of the reasons I am against Governmental involvement in Health Care is that I break pretty much all of the rules of conventional diets and do fine. I should be a wreck given most peoples ideas about health between the fighting and my diet. Once this becomes more of a political issue I am pretty much screwed. As a libertarian I can live in a world with vegans like Spinney and do fine since neither of us interferes with the others dietary choices. Once this stuff becomes a candidates platform my health becomes fodder for people who think pizza is a vegetable.

[Anpanman]

Alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, breast, colon and liver.

Wow I totally didn't know that!
Geez if this article didn't say so I would have never found out!

brb huffing air-dusters.

[kiri2tsubasa]

You can take away my freedom, my ability to vote, and other stuff... However I will fight to the death to protect my bacon.

[Ibrahim90]

You can take away my freedom, my ability to vote, and other stuff... However I will fight to the death to protect my bacon.

now that is a noble stand

personally, I don't like it ( I think it looks like a red-dyed skunk. think about that, you'll get it. and the smell. and it's a pork product), but I will always defend the right of others to eat bacon. including yours.