What about processed meat?
The
AICR Expert Report found that processed red meat (like ham, sausage,
bacon and cold cuts) raises risk for colorectal cancer by 42 percent
for every 3.5 ounces (100 g) eaten per day, an even greater increase
than that associated with regular red meat.
In
fact, although evidence suggests it is possible to eat as much as 18
ounces of red meat per week without increasing risk, the AICR report
found no such “safe zone” for processed meat.
That’s
why the AICR Expert Panel advises avoiding processed meat. Enjoy it on
special occasions – a ham at Easter, a hot dog at a ballgame – but
making it part of your everyday diet is not a good idea.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Experts at the American
Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) say Americans can’t afford to wait
any longer to make a cancer-protective shift in their eating habits.
The evidence linking red meat to colon cancer is now so strong it
should prompt a nationwide reduction in red meat consumption, they
said.
AICR’s landmark report,
Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective concluded that the scientific evidence linking red meat (beef, pork and lamb) to colorectal cancer is now
convincing. Accordingly,
the expert panel who authored the report issued a recommendation to
limit consumption of red meat to no more than
18 ounces (cooked) per week and
avoid processed meat.
Many
Americans eat far greater amounts of red meat per week. Consider a
person who often chooses eggs with two sausage links (2oz) for
breakfast, or a quarter-pound fast food burger (4oz) at lunch, or a
pork chop (6oz) or two for dinner. This person is likely to far exceed
the recommended 18 ounces per week.
If such a person eats
lunch or dinner at restaurants several times a week, it becomes even
more difficult to keep consumption in check. Today, many restaurants
offer 9 to 12 ounce servings of steak or roast beef and often compete
for business by inflating portion sizes even more.
Cancer
experts are asking Americans to assess the amount of red meat they
typically eat and substitute poultry or fish more often, or simply
increase the amount of meatless meals they enjoy in a given week.
“The
meat-and-potatoes mindset is slowly killing us,” said AICR Nutrition
Advisor, Karen Collins, MS, RD. “We need to break ourselves of the
notion that we need a hunk of red meat at every meal.”
Collins
noted, however, that some Americans are just a few ounces over the
recommended weekly amount. These individual can start eating for lower
cancer risk simply by substituting a hearty vegetable chili and salad
for a hamburger at lunchtime, or preparing poultry or fish instead of
steak for dinner two nights a week.
Report: Risk Rises with Increased Consumption
According to the AICR report’s analysis of the collected evidence,
every 3.5 ounces (100 g) of red meat eaten per day increases risk for
colorectal cancer by 30 percent.
What is alarming about
this increased risk, Collins said, is the real-world impact that 30
percent figure takes on once its effects are felt across the entire
population of the world. “Smokers are a subset of people whose chosen
habit places them at much higher risk for lung cancer, but this is
different. Everybody eats,” she said. “And everybody who eats a diet
high in red meat is at a higher risk of colon cancer, whether they know
it or not.”
Given the huge number of people involved, the
effect of red meat consumption on colon cancer incidence is immense,
Collins said. “If there were a drug that was found to increase risk of
a disease by 30 percent, it would get pulled off the shelves.”
AICR
is not calling for the elimination of meat from US diets. Instead, the
cancer experts are urging Americans to recognize that cutting back on
how much red meat they eat every week is an important,
cancer-protective step.
Awareness of Meat-Cancer Link Surges, But Will U.S. Diets Change?
Prior to release of the AICR expert report in November 2007, only 36
percent of Americans were aware that diets high in red meat are a cause
of cancer, according to an AICR telephone survey of 1022 US adults.
Upon its publication, the AICR expert report received a great deal of
media and scientific attention. It was also the subject of aggressive
statements from the meat industry seeking to discredit the
recommendation, which raised the report’s public profile even further.
That
furor seems to have had a lingering impact on public awareness. Five
months after the November release of the report, AICR has resurveyed
Americans on their awareness of the red meat-cancer link. According to
this follow-up survey of 1,008 US adults, public awareness that red
meat is a cause of cancer has jumped by 18 percentage points, to 54
percent.
According to government statistics, a gradual
shift away from red meat has been underway in the U.S. for decades. The
USDA’s Economic Research Service reports that the average American’s
annual consumption of beef has decreased by nearly 14 pounds (224
ounces) since 1970.
That decrease was likely sparked by
public education campaigns that focused on the fat content of red meat
and the effect it has on health, such as increasing the risk of heart
disease. Collins noted that although choosing lean cuts does play a
protective role in heart health, diets high in red meat – no matter its
fat content – increase risk for colorectal cancer.
AICR’s new brochure
The Facts About Red Meat and Processed Meat
gives practical, everyday advice for making a cancer-fighting
transformation to your diet and provides more information on the
science behind the meat-cancer link. The brochure can be read, ordered,
or downloaded at www.aicr.org/redmeat.
Or call 1-800-843-8114, extension 466, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
ET, Monday through Friday, for a complimentary single copy.
