Contents:
- Medical Video: The Western Diet and Colon Cancer: Lab Chat with Leonard Augenlicht, Ph.D.
- WHO states processed meat can increase the risk of cancer
- Consumption of processed meat more than 50 grams per day increases the risk of colon cancer
- The importance of implementing a healthy lifestyle as a whole
Medical Video: The Western Diet and Colon Cancer: Lab Chat with Leonard Augenlicht, Ph.D.
Cancer is a disease that is feared by everyone. The causes of this disease also vary, and cannot be known with certainty. Even so, recent research has found that processed meat or packaging has the potential to cause colon cancer. It is estimated that more than 34 thousand people die each year from cancer due to consuming high-priced processed meat. Why is that? See the full explanation in this article.
WHO states processed meat can increase the risk of cancer
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently stated that processed or packaged meat is included in the list of carcinogenic foods that have the potential to cause cancer. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a cancer research institute under the WHO, processed meat includes sausages, ham, smoked meat, corned beef, salami, beef jerky, and so on.
Processed meat is red meat (cows, goats, chickens, sheep, pigs) that have undergone changes, both in form and taste through salting, fermentation, fumigation, preservation or other ways to increase their shelf life to last longer.The processing is usually done by adding chemicals to the meat. Well, these additives used in the process of making processed meat are believed to be able to change the meat content so that it can eventually increase the risk of cancer.
In red meat, the process of cooking the meat can also increase the risk of cancer if you use the method of cooking in high temperatures, such as being burned, fried, or baked. Cooking at high temperatures will trigger the presence of heterocyclic amino (HCAs) that are claimed to be carcinogenic. Charcoal attached to grilled meat also contains components of carcinogens polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) so that both have the same potential to increase cancer risk.
Consumption of processed meat more than 50 grams per day increases the risk of colon cancer
Quoted from the page of the American Cancer Society, as many as 22 experts from 10 countries have reviewed more than 800 studies. As a result, the researchers concluded that consuming 50 grams of processed meat every day (equivalent to consuming 4 pieces of smoked meat or 1 piece of sausage meat) could increase the risk of colon cancer by 18 percent.Although the percentage number looks relatively small, the risk of colon cancer will increase according to the amount of meat consumed per day.
The researchers also found a positive link between consuming red meat and increasing colon, pancreatic and prostate cancers. The data has been published in the journal Lancet Oncology. Even so, the researchers say that the data they release is only a notification to the public, not a human prohibition to consume red meat.
The importance of implementing a healthy lifestyle as a whole
Although processed meats and red meat have the potential to increase the risk of cancer, it does not mean you are not allowed to consume both types of food at all. The researchers agreed that occasionally eating a small amount of controlled bacon meat would certainly not have a negative impact on health. Provided that you also apply another healthy lifestyle.
In short, you not only have to limit consumption of red meat and avoid eating processed meat. However, you also have to apply a healthy lifestyle as a whole.
The method can be started from paying attention to the food intake that you consume everyday. Make sure the food you consume contains balanced nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fiber from fruits and vegetables. Not only that, you also have to control your weight, stop smoking, and reduce alcohol consumption.
Finally, don't forget you are also required to be physically active. Do whatever physical activity you enjoy doing, whether it's just walking, cycling, cleaning, and so on. In essence, these activities keep you moving.If it is run consistently, you can not only reduce the risk of colon cancer, but reduce the risk of other types of cancer later on.
