After decades of research on the relation between red meat, processed meats, and cancer, the truth is finally out in the open. World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that processed meats like bacon, sausage, and even red meat, cause cancer.
A panel of 22 international experts drafted these findings based on decades of research on the link between processed meat and cancer. The lethality of processed food items has finally been established. The extensive research program included various animal experiments, studies of human diet, and cell processes.
In order to make the findings a little more digestible and relevant for the general masses, the panel did a comparative analysis of processed meat with other carcinogens such as cigarettes. The conclusion was that the degree of danger was smaller in the case of processed meat.
The risk of developing cancer due to consumption of meat is small, but this risk depends on the quantity of meat consumed. As per the panel, nearly 34,000 annual deaths due to cancer are attributable to diets involving high quantities of processed meat.
The studies have found a verifiable link between processed meat and cancer, true. But even then, it won’t be fully correct to say that meat itself causes cancer. Simply speaking, as of now, it is difficult to ascertain what factors of our diet are responsible for a higher or lower risk of developing cancer. Diets with higher quantities of vegetables and fruits are often associated with a smaller risk of developing cancer.
Do you know, which food was received in the temperature danger zone?
To sum it up, despite decades of studies and unparalleled expertise of 22 individuals, the study fails to draw a ‘safe limit’ for consumption of red meat and/or processed meat. The average consumer is left clueless again as lack of sufficient and availability of insufficient scientific data will affect the way tomorrow’s meal tastes.
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