Paula Meepicks through a recent report, advising people to reduce their intake of processed red meats due to a suggestion of a strong link between those meats and cancer
In the recent aftermath of the World Cancer Research Fund report, many bloggers seem downright cynical. They claim to be sick to the back teeth of this never- ending, constantly evolving "cancer-causing" list.
To some it seems that just about everything causes cancer, from their deodorant to their mobiles, microwaves, hair dyes, sunlight and tap water. Now the advice to avoid ham, bacon and sausage is prompting goading responses like this one: "Stuff that. I'm gonna go ahead and eat my bacon triple cheeseburgers. Get them into me as fast as I can. Enjoy my size 46 pants. And my shortened life."
The 571-page report highlights the fact that about 40 per cent of all cancers are linked to food, lack of exercise and body weight. Part of the report's purpose is to show that preventing cancer through changing our diets and lifestyles is as feasible and crucial as the prevention of coronary heart disease.
The findings are meant to guide future scientific research, cancer- prevention education programmes and health policy around the world. The scientists involved claim their "practical" recommendations could prevent about one-third of all cancers if adopted worldwide. However, not everyone is in agreement.
The American Meat Institute has called the recommendation to eat no more than 500g (three 6oz portions) of red meat a week "extreme" and "unfounded". It claims: "No health groups should be dispensing clear-cut recommendations on specific foods when studies continue to contradict each other".
However, this guideline is more or less in line with the Department of Health's food pyramid.
What struck me as breaking new ground was the stark recommendation to avoid processed meats such as ham, bacon, salami or any other meat preserved by smoking, curing or salting. It's difficult to see how they can generalise about all ham, bacon, salami and sausage as the quality and the processing methods differ so much right around the world. A dry cured Parma type ham is a completely different product from a cheaper chemical concoction of water, nitrates and ham.
This report is based on an analysis of 7,000 global cancer studies dating back to the 1960s and certainly there has been significant changes in processing techniques since then.
It's also confusing because although ham and bacon contain the preservatives nitrites and nitrates, they account for a tiny amount of our total intake of these substances.
Bacon has received the most criticism for its high fat and salt content but there are many other high-fat, high-salt foods that also lend to weight gain when over eaten, and yet they have a place, albeit a small one, on the top of the food pyramid.
Conflicting messages from the panel of scientists are not helping. Some say that no amount of processed meat is considered completely safe, so we are best to avoid it altogether. Take it out of the food pyramid? Others such as Philip T James, panel member and chairman of the International Obesity Task Force in London, are not saying "never have processed meat", just don't make it a daily habit as the evidence is clear.
I find this confusing as one of many mothers who regularly puts ham (premium or otherwise) into children's lunchboxes. How much is too much? We need more research before we have a clear guideline.
The differences in beef production around the world make me certain that you can't assume that all beef is the same. What sets us apart here in Ireland is our grass. Unlike most of Europe and the US where animals are grain fed, we have a unique advantage in that the vast majority of our beef comes from animals that graze on green Irish pasture, for most months of the year.
This, it seems, results in higher levels of health-promoting fatty acids found in Irish beef, in particular conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and omega-3 fats.
In recent years CLA has been the talking point among scientists and nutritionists, with numerous studies focusing on its different isomers (structures) and their levels in foods. Dietary sources of CLA are almost exclusively beef and dairy produce. Ironically, the potential benefits identified include CLAs' anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic effects.
The beef of grass-fed animals is also higher in the unsaturated omega 3 fat (good fat) because grass is higher in omega 3, whereas grains are higher in omega 6. Many Irish diets are deficient in omega 3s and very rich in omega 6s, creating an imbalance. This imbalance is thought to contribute to many diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. So is our beef the same as mass-produced beef products in the US? I think not.
At the end of the day there are healthy diets and unhealthy diets. These recommendations might be intended to be a wake-up call for those who eat hot dogs, fries and pepperoni pizza regularly.
It's important to help people to start looking for alternatives, but it's also important to be clear about why we are asking people to eat less red and processed meat. I don't think we are there yet.
[ www.paulamee.com ]
Top tips
•Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight.
•Be physically active as part of everyday life.
•Limit consumption of energy-dense foods and avoid sugary drinks.
•Eat mostly foods of plant origin.
•Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat.
•Limit alcoholic drinks.
•Limit consumption of salt, and avoid mouldy cereals or pulses.
•Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone.
•If a new mother, breastfeed your baby.
•Cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.
Source: Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer Report. World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)