Red Meat and Cancer

If you haven't seen the headlines all over your Facebook news feed yet, the World Health Organization just came out with a paper saying that consumption of red and processed meat is linked to cancer.

I feel a strong need to weigh in on this issue.

First, they are probably NOT able to take the quality of the meat in to consideration since there have been no studies (that I know of) examining the difference in the health of people who only eat grass-fed/wild healthy happy red meat vs. people who eat conventionally raised red meat...at least not yet, because it hasn't been happening for long enough yet.

Second, we all know that processed meats aren't good for you. The chemicals typically used to do the processing are most likely the main reason the food isn't good for you and this simply points to the fact that you should be eating fresher, minimally processed foods...hopefully most of us have gotten that message already.

"Processed meat refers to meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation."

Third, they are drawing ASSOCIATIONS between the increased consumption of meat and colorectal cancers, this does NOT mean it's a cause.

"In the case of red meat, the classification is based on limited evidence from epidemiological studies showing positive associations between eating red meat and developing colorectal cancer as well as strong mechanistic evidence.

Limited evidence means that a positive association has been observed between exposure to the agent and cancer but that other explanations for the observations (technically termed chance, bias, or confounding) could not be ruled out." 

"Eating red meat has not yet been established as a cause of cancer"

Forth, by their own admittance "Eating meat has known health benefits."

"Red meat contains high biological-value proteins and important micronutrients such as B vitamins, iron (both free iron and haem iron), and zinc. The fat content of red meat varies depending on animal species, age, sex, breed, and feed, and the cut of the meat. Meat processing, such as curing and smoking, can result in formation of carcinogenic chemicals, including N-nitroso-compounds (NOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Cooking improves the digestibility and palatability of meat, but can also produce known or suspected carcinogens, including heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA) and PAH. High-temperature cooking by pan-frying, grilling, or barbecuing generally produces the highest amounts of these chemicals."

So this is not a free-for all pass people to start shouting from the rooftops that anyone who eats meat is unhealthy, each person can and should find a way of eating that suits them best and makes them feel the best whether it ends up looking more vegan or more paleo, no way is right for everyone.

"Vegetarian diets and diets that include meat have different advantages and disadvantages for health. However, this evaluation did not directly compare health risks in vegetarians and people who eat meat. That type of comparison is difficult because these groups can be different in other ways besides their consumption of meat."

So while I don't doubt that there is a link between the chemicals used in and created during the processing of meat and a possible increase in risk for developing cancer, I don't believe that this is as clear as people as making it out to be.

Cancer is an extremely complicated health issue and making associations does not necessarily help us figure out what the cause of cancer is in any one individual.

So yes, limit processed meats and all other processed foods, and choose whole, fresh, organic, ethically and healthily raised foods as much as possible...this recommendation for maintaining and improving your health hasn't (and probably won't ever) change.

If you want more info, check out the link to the Q&A the WHO has put out there so you can get the info for yourself instead of relying on what the media is saying...even better read the actual published article citing all the data they used.

Resources:

World Health Organization Press Release 26 October 2015 IARC Monographs evaluate consumption of red meat and processed meat: http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf

World Health Organization Q&A on the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Monographs-Q&A_Vol114.pdf

The Lancet Oncology full text article Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(15)00444-1/fulltext