Eat More Processed Meat Do Cause Cancer

High consumption of processed meat are at increased risk of early death, in particular due to cardiovascular diseases but also to cancer

People who eat a lot of processed meat such as bacon, sausages, ham and burgers run a greater risk of premature death and developing conditions such as cancer and heart disease, research shows. Processed meat has been modified to either extend its shelf life or change the taste and the main methods are smoking , curing, or adding salt or preservatives. Simply putting beef through a mincer does not mean the resulting mince is “processed” unless it is modified further. Processed meat includes bacon, hot dogs, sausages, corned beef, beef jerky, salami and ham as well as canned meat and  meat-based sauces. It is the chemicals involved in the processing which could be increasing the risk of cancer. High temperature cooking, such as on a barbeque, can also create carcinogenic chemicals.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer agency affiliated with WHO, has evaluated the carciogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat. The experts concluded that each 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. If they were all had an extra 50g of bacon a day for the rest of their lives then the risk would increase by 18% to around seven in 100 people getting bowel cancer.