Lunch meat may cause bladder cancer

Wednesday, August 04, 2010 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: lunch meat, bladder cancer, health news

(NaturalNews) A recent study published in the journal Cancer links nitrate-containing cold cut meats to bladder cancer. According to the study, people who eat red meat cold cuts that contain nitrates or nitrites have a nearly 30 percent increased risk of developing bladder cancer.

"Nitrate and nitrite are precursors to N-nitroso compounds (NOCs), which induce tumors in many organs, including the bladder, in multiple animal species," explains the study.

Nitrates are added to meats as a preservative and as a color-protector. They make the meat appear fresher for a longer period of time. But these additives are highly toxic and dangerous to health.

"[S]odium nitrite, when consumed by the human body, forms some of the most highly carcinogenic chemical compounds ever recorded in the world of foods and nutrition. They're call nitrosamines, and these nitrosamines directly promote cancers throughout the body, most notably colorectal cancer," explains Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, in his book Spam Filters for Your Brain.

Roughly 300,000 men and women from eight U.S. states participated in the study. Researchers followed participants for up to eight years and found that people whose diets were high in nitrites -- no matter where the additives came from -- had an increased risk of developing bladder cancer.

They also discovered that participants who ate a lot of nitrite-containing foods tended to eat less fruits, vegetables and other nutrient-rich foods.

According to the research, non-Hispanic Caucasians who smoke and have a higher body-mass index (BMI) represent the biggest consumers of processed red meats.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,598322,0...

http://www.naturalpedia.com/sodium_nitrite.h...