While there has been a lot of hype about the risks of eating red meat, this study found no connection between red meat consumption and increased breast cancer risk, confirming what Mike Adams, founder and editor of Natural News has been saying for 15 years. The increased risk is specific to processed meats because of their high nitrite and nitrate content.
“When we look at all the evidence together there is an increased risk of breast cancer with diets high in processed meats,” Dr. Mariana Stern, lead author from the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, told CBS Miami.
What’s the problem with processed meat?
The additives that take meat from healthy to dangerous are known as nitrites and nitrates. These chemicals are added to processed meats to preserve them, prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, add a salty flavor, and give cured meats their pink or red color.
Though our bodies naturally contain these chemicals and they are present in high amounts in certain vegetables, the problem comes in when they are exposed to heat in the presence of amino acids. When this happens, they turn into entirely different compounds, known as nitrosamines, which are potent cancer causers.
Since processed meats are high in protein and therefore a source of amino acids, adding nitrates or nitrites to them and then exposing them to heat provides a perfect environment for the production of these dangerous nitrosamines, and therefore dramatically increases cancer risk.
Processed meats also increase risk of other cancers
Back in 2015, the World Health Organization classified processed meats as a group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence to prove that they cause cancer.
The U.K.’s Guardian reported at the time:
Health scares are ten-a-penny, but this one was very hard to ignore. The WHO announcement came on advice from 22 cancer experts from 10 countries, who reviewed more than 400 studies on processed meat covering epidemiological data from hundreds of thousands of people. It was now possible to say that “eat less processed meat,” much like “eat more vegetables,” had become one of the very few absolutely incontrovertible pieces of evidence-based diet advice – not simply another high-profile nutrition fad. As every news report highlighted, processed meat was now in a group of 120 proven carcinogens, alongside alcohol, asbestos and tobacco – leading to a great many headlines blaring that bacon was as deadly as smoking.
Mike Adams warned back in 2004 that processed meats cause colorectal cancer, brain tumors and leukemia. And in 2005, he warned that they increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 67 percent:
Consuming processed meats increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, says new research conducted at the University of Hawaii that followed nearly 200,000 men and women for seven years. According to lead study author Ute Nothlings, people who consumed the most processed meats (hot dogs and sausage) showed a 67% increased risk of pancreatic cancer over those who consumed little or no meat products.
The evidence is clear: It’s time to eliminate all processed meats from our diets. In fact, replacing all processed foods with fresh, unprocessed, organic fruits, veggies and meat is the healthiest choice we can all make for our future health.
Learn more about how to prevent cancer at Cancer.news.
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