What is it about processed meats (ground beef, turkey, bacon) that consuming it causes cancer way more often in humans?
In: Biology
The reason is nitrates.
But it’s not even true that it causes cancer “way more often”. I implore everybody to closely look at the actual studies on how cancer risk is assessed and how the studies on cancer risk from meat were done and what they concluded with.
Many things.
1) Meat contains no fiber. People who eat a meat heavy diet have a slower transit time (the time it takes for food to travel from mouth to anus). Slower transit time is a risk factor for colorectal cancer.
2) Meat is high in fat. High fat diets are linked with higher cancer rates. Fat triggers the gallbladder to release bile. (Bile helps us break down and absorb fats.) High levels of bile acids are associated with colon cancer.
3) Processed meats contain nitrites. Nitrites are associated with a higher risk of stomach cancer. Processed meats include bacon, ham, sausages, hot dogs, salami and deli meats. Nitrites are added to these meats to prevent bacterial growth.
4) Meat contains arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is pro-inflammatory. Higher levels of inflammation in the body are associated with a higher risk of cancer.
Aside from the nitrites contained in processed meats that might be part of the reason, it’s worth noting that red meat (=meat from mammals) is also classified as class 2 carcinogen (processed meat being class 1)
Fresh ground turkey does not have any link to cancer as far as I’m aware, and ground beef etc is more the red meat being a problem, than it is the being ground. When preservatives are added they are also linked to increased chance of cancer
Another possible reason is that the study itself is flawed. The studies that have looked into this are epidemiological studies which are long term questioned based studies. Not a control group vs variable studies. Basically those who eat processed meats are also more likely to have other health habits that may put them at risk of cancer.
Those who are vegan or avoid processed meats are more likely to make other healthy decisions such as avoiding alcohol, fried foods, smoking ect and that’s why they have lower rates of cancer.
It depends what you mean by processed meats but it really comes down to what manufacturers put in them. I wouldn’t classify standard ground beef as processed, just taking parts of beef and grounding it up. This is different compared to things such as hot dogs, ham, bacon, etc. The closer you can get to having just the meat and no additives, the better.
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