Processed Meat Once Again ‘Linked To Pancreatic Cancer’

January 20, 2012

BBC

By James Gallagher

“If you’re going to eat beef – it must be grass fed and organic. Otherwise, become a vegetarian.” –KTRN

A link between eating processed meat, such as bacon or sausages, and pancreatic cancer has been suggested by researchers in Sweden.

They said eating an extra 50g of processed meat, approximately one sausage, every day would increase a person’s risk by 19%.

But the chance of developing the rare cancer remains low.

The World Cancer Research Fund suggested the link may be down to obesity.

Eating red and processed meat has already been linked to bowel cancer. As a result the UK government recommended in 2011 that people eat no more than 70g a day.

Prof Susanna Larsson, who conducted the study at the Karolinska Institute, told the BBC that links to other cancers were “quite controversial”.

She added: “It is known that eating meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer, it’s not so much known about other cancers.”

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, analysed data from 11 trials and 6,643 patients with pancreatic cancer.

Click here for the full report.

Can Processed Meat Give You Cancer?

August 22nd, 2011

AOL Real Estate

By: Neal Barnard, M.D.

Are hot dogs a political issue? Surprisingly so.

On Monday July 25, my non-profit organization, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, erected a billboard outside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The picture was stark — a cigarette pack emblazoned with a skull and crossbones. But sticking out of the pack were not cigarettes — instead there were hot dogs. The message said “WARNING: Hot dogs can wreck your health.”

The issue is cancer. Every year, about 143,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer and more than 50,000 die of the disease. About half of all cases are already incurable when found. The U.S. Government and other entities have poured millions of dollars into the search for the cause. But one of the causes they found turned out to be too hot for the government to handle.

It’s the ordinary hot dog. At least 58 scientific studies have looked at the issue, and the jury has rendered its verdict, which is now beyond reasonable doubt. The more hot dogs people eat, the higher their risk of colorectal cancer. And it’s not just hot dogs. Any sort of processed meat — bacon, sausage, ham, deli slices — is in this group. And here are the numbers: Every 50 grams of processed meat you eat on a daily basis (that’s about one hot dog) increases your risk of colorectal cancer by 21 percent. And just as there is no safe level of smoking, no amount of hot dogs, bacon, sausage, ham or other processed meats comes out clean in scientific studies.

The problem goes beyond colorectal cancer. An NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study found a 10 percent increased risk of prostate cancer for every 10 grams of increased intake of processed meats. Other studies have linked these same products to leukemia and ovarian cancer. Exactly how processed meats do their dirty work is not clear; it could be their nitrites, saturated fat or other ingredients.

But here’s where politics come in: Even though much of this research was paid for by the U.S. government, the government also subsidizes meat. It supports feed grains to fatten cows and pigs, buys up meats for the school lunch program and helps the meat industry in countless other ways. So I think that the last thing the government wants to do is to publicize the cancer risk of one of its favorite products. I believe that this is why there are no government billboards, radio ads or television spots to warn anyone about this easily preventable cause.

At a ballgame, if you’re thinking about buying your daughter a hot dog, there are no notices, no warning labels on the food product, no nothing. Meat industry lobbyists have made sure that your government won’t breathe a word.

The fact is, hot dogs are not fun, cute or “All-American.” If you are not convinced, just ask to see how one is made.

When good research finds a potentially fatal risk to Americans — one as close as our refrigerators and as dear to us as our children — the government needs to let Americans know.

And when it does not, we will.

Click here for the full report from AOL Healthy Living

Red, Processed Meat Linked to Higher Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

August 11th, 2011

USA Today

By: Nanci Hellmich

Eating processed meats and red meat regularly increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, a large new study shows.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed dietary-intake data from more than 200,000 men and women in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and the Nurses’ Health Studies. The participants have been tracked for a decade or more.

The scientists also did a larger analysis, combining their data and that from other published studies to analyze the diets of 442,101 people. About 28,000 of these people developed type 2 diabetes.

The researchers adjusted for the participants’ age, weight, physical activity level, smoking, family history of diabetes and other dietary and lifestyle factors. Their findings are published today online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

•A 2-ounce serving a day of processed meat (hot dog, bacon, salami or bologna) increased the risk of diabetes by 50%.

•A 4-ounce serving a day (the size of a deck of cards) of unprocessed red meat such as hamburger, steak, pork or lamb was associated with a 20% increased risk of diabetes.

•Substituting nuts, whole grains and low-fat dairy such as yogurt for a serving a day of these types of processed or unprocessed meats lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 16% to 35%, the analysis showed.

“Many previous studies have shown the link between processed meats and diabetes, but this is one of the first (large studies) to show that unprocessed red meat is a significant risk factor,” says senior author Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

“Clearly, processed meat is much worse than unprocessed meat for raising the risk but unprocessed red meat is not benign,” he says. “This is the largest and most convincing data accumulated so far.”

Hu says the high amount of sodium and nitrites in processed meats are potential factors that increase diabetes risk.

With red meat, it may be the high amount of heme iron, he says. Although iron helps prevent anemia, many people in the Western world have iron overload, which is a risk factor for diabetes, he says. “There are probably other factors in these meats that contribute to diabetes.”

He advises reducing the consumption of these types of meats and incorporating more nuts and low-fat dairy and whole grains into meals.

Previous research has linked eating red meat and processed meat to an increased risk of heart disease and cancer, particularly colorectal cancer.

Registered dietitian Shalene McNeill, a spokeswoman for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, says, “These are epidemiological studies, and they can’t identify cause and effect. They are identifying associations, and what we know from gold-standard research that does look at cause and effect is that higher protein diets that include beef are very effective for helping people manage their weight and balance their blood sugars — both important factors for reducing your risk of developing diabetes.”

Diabetes afflicts more than 25 million adults and children in the USA. Most have type 2 diabetes. The long-term complications of the disease include heart attacks, blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage and amputations.

“Type 2 diabetes has a very strong genetic component, and multiple environmental factors, such as obesity, physical inactivity and poor diet, interact with genetics to increase the risk and accelerate the development of the disease,” says Vivian Fonseca, president-elect of medicine and science for the American Diabetes Association and a professor of medicine at Tulane.

“People who are eating a lot of red meat and processed meat may not be eating as much nuts, beans and fish which may be protective. People who eat more of those foods tend to have less diabetes,” Fonseca says.

Click here for the full report from USA Today

Vitamin D Controls Genetic Expression for Health and Disease

December 2nd, 2010

Natural News

By: David Gutierrez

Vitamin D is especially active in areas of the human genome related to autoimmune diseases, providing yet more evidence that the vitamin plays a critical role in regulating the immune system and protecting against certain diseases.

In a study published in the journal Genome Research, researchers from Oxford University mapped the human genome looking for clusters of vitamin D receptors — sites where the vitamin can bind to DNA, changing the expression of a gene. They found that these receptors were especially common in regions that have previously been linked to common autoimmune diseases, including Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. Vitamin D receptors were also common in regions linked to colorectal cancer and leukemia.

The study shows how serious the effects of vitamin D deficiency can be, the researchers noted.

Scientists have long known that vitamin D plays an essential role in maintaining healthy teeth and bones, but only recently has the vitamin’s role in immune regulation started to become clear.

“The benefits of vitamin D include a reduction in the risk of colon polyps and prostate cancer, less coronary artery disease, and a decreased chance of developing type 1 diabetes, plus increased muscle strength and coordination, along with higher bone strength,” writes Phyllis A. Balch in her book Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition.

The best source of vitamin D is exposure to sunlight. In only a fraction of the time it takes to burn, the body can produce up to 10,000 IU of the vitamin — as little as 15 minutes per day for light-skinned people and as much as three times that for people with much darker skin.

Sunscreen blocks the ultraviolet radiation that the body needs to synthesize vitamin D.

Click here for the full report from Natural News

Selenium and Omega-3s Prevent Colon Cancer

January 25, 2010

Natural News

By S.L. Baker

When scientists gathered in Houston recently for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, they heard groundbreaking evidence about how colon cancer can be prevented. The new data wasn’t about drugs or surgery, either. Instead, two separate research groups concluded natural substances appear to protect from often deadly colon malignancies.

Colon cancer, which the American Cancer Society estimates is diagnosed in over 108,000 Americans each year, is intricately linked to adenomas, also called polyps. These lesions grow in the large bowel and start off as benign. However, they can turn into cancerous tumors and 70 to 80% of all cancers of the colon (the longest part of the large intestine) and rectum result from adenomas-turned-malignant.

So, in hopes of preventing future cancerous growths, polyps found during colonoscopies are snipped off and biopsied. Unfortunately though, pre-cancerous polyps often return. But scientists at the National Institute for Cancer Research in Genoa, Italy, conducted a long term study that shows the risk of pre-cancerous polyps (dubbed colorectal metachronous adenomas) coming back after they’ve been removed can be greatly reduced. The key? Taking specific antioxidants, including a selenium-based compound.

“Our study is the first intervention trial specifically designed to evaluate the efficacy of the selenium-based antioxidant compound on the risk of developing metachronous adenomas,” said Luigina Bonelli, M.D., head of the unit of secondary prevention and screening at the National Institute for Cancer Research, in a statement to the media.

40% reduced risk
The research team studied volunteers between the ages of 25 and 75 who had already had one or more colorectal adenomas removed. None of the participants were diagnosed with any additional colorectal disease, cancer or other life-threatening illness and none were taking vitamins or mineral supplements when the study began. The scientists randomly divided the 411 participants into two groups: those in one group received an inactive placebo and those in the second group took a daily antioxidant supplement containing a selenium compound (selenomethionnine 200 ug), zinc 30 mg, vitamin A 6,000 IU, vitamin C 180 mg and vitamin E 30 mg.

“Our results indicated that individuals who consumed antioxidants had a 40% reduction in the incidence of metachronous adenomas of the large bowel,” Bonelli said. “It is noteworthy that the benefit observed after the conclusion of the trial persisted through 13 years of follow up.”
Omega-3s help prevent colorectal cancer
Another study just released at the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference — this one from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina — found that omega-3 fatty acids, which are primarily found in cold water fish such as salmon, may be able to prevent colorectal cancer.

The scientists recruited 1,509 Caucasian participants (716 cancer cases and 787 controls) and 369 African-American participants (213 cancer cases and 156 controls). A validated food questionnaire was used to collect information on the frequency and amount of foods typically consumed by the research subjects in the past 12 months. Those who ate more long-chain omega-3 fatty acids had a significantly reduced risk of large bowel cancer. In fact, the highest intake was linked to an almost 40% decreased cancer risk. Unfortunately, the greatly reduced risk was only seen in white research subjects and the scientists are trying to figure out what might account for the racial disparity.

“Experimental data have shown benefits of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in colorectal carcinogenesis, ranging from reduced tumor growth, suppression of angiogenesis and inhibition of metastasis,” research leader Sangmi Kim, Ph.D., said in a statement to the press. “Our finding of inverse association between dietary intakes of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and distal large bowel cancer in white participants adds additional support to the hypothesis.”

These new studies linking natural substances to colon cancer prevention are part of a growing body of evidence indicating dietary measures can fight this kind of cancer successfully. For example, as NaturalNews has previously reported, the disease is primarily linked to the typical Western diet so avoiding processed food and trans fats can go far to prevent it. What’s more, blueberries have been shown to slash the risk of colon cancer by 57%  and apples contain natural phytochemicals that have a protective effect against colon cancer  too.

Click here for the full report

Group Seeking ‘Anti-Cancer’ Label for Hot Dogs

December 22, 2009

Natural News

By David Gutierrez

In a lawsuit filed against hot dog manufacturers, the nonprofit Cancer Project is seeking to force all hot dogs sold in the state of New Jersey to carry a label reading, “Warning: Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer.”

“Just as tobacco causes lung cancer, processed meats are linked to colon cancer,” said Cancer Project President Neal Barnard, of George Washington University Medical School. “Companies that sell hot dogs are well aware of the danger, and their customers deserve the same information.”

The Cancer Project is a project of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which promotes a vegan diet and condemns animal research.

The lawsuit cites numerous studies that have implicated processed meat consumption in a higher cancer risk, including a recent report by the American Institute for Cancer Research. According to this report, eating just one 50 gram serving of processed meat per day (the equivalent of one hot dog) increases a person’s risk of colorectal cancer by an average of 21 percent.

The Cancer Project largely blames hot dogs’ cancer-causing effects on nitrites, a class of preservatives that break down into carcinogenic compounds when digested. Other researchers have argued that the high fat content of processed meat is much more likely to cause cancer, but the Cancer Project argues that this debate is not relevant to its lawsuit.

“This situation is similar to the link between the smoking of tobacco products and lung cancer: While all the molecular events linking the smoking of tobacco to the development of lung cancer are not known, the link cannot be disputed,” the legal complaint says.

According to nutritionist Keith-Thomas Ayoob of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, focusing too much on hot dogs might be missing the point.

“The stuff people typically have with a hot dog may be a more immediate concern: too many calories from all the fat-laden potato and macaroni salads, sugary drinks and sweet desserts,” he said.

Click here for the full report

Processed Meat Increases Diabetes Risk

December 2, 2009

Natural News

By Paul Louis

A report based on data from 12 pooled cohort studies on heavy meat diets was led by Dagfinn Aune from the University of Oslo and published in the journal Diabetologia. The study determined that the high intake of processed meat may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 41 percent.

This new meta-analysis was conducted jointly from Norway and the US. The general conclusions of the study suggested that: “High intake of total meat increased the risk of diabetes by 17 percent, while red meat and processed meat were associated with 21 and 41 percent increases in diabetes risk.”

One of the primary purposes of this study was to resolve, ” . . . inconsistencies from previous studies which found both positive and negative associations between meat consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes.”

Barry Popkin from the University of North Carolina described the study as “excellent’ and he went on to say that it “reiterates the concerns echoed in other major reviews and studies on the adverse effects of excessive meat intake”.

The higher rate of diabetes risk from processed meats can be attributed to the nitrates used as preservatives. Other studies have documented that nitrates cause beta cell toxicity. Beta cells are involved with the production of insulin. Consequently, their ability to produce insulin is blocked by nitrate induced toxicity.

Animal model studies proved that low doses of nitrosamine streptozotocin induced type 2 diabetes. Nitrosamines are formed by the nitrates interacting with amino acids in the stomach.

Earlier studies have documented negative health consequences with heavy meat eating. The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) has warned that “. . . high intakes of red and processed meats may raise the risk of lung and colorectal cancer by up to 20 percent.” And the World Cancer Research Fund has reported a direct link to cancer with alcohol, red and processed meats. They also found that heavy red and processed meat eaters risked earlier death.

Click here for full report

Obesity Responsible for 100,000 Cancer Cases Annually

November 06, 2009

Web MD

By Todd Zwillich

As many as 100,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in the U.S. each year if Americans get rid of their excess body fat.

That’s according to estimates released by the American Institute for Cancer Research. The estimates suggest that heart disease, diabetes, and joint problems aren’t the only illnesses in which rampant obesity is causing havoc.

The group says overweight and obesity could be the cause of more than 6% of all the estimated 1.6 million cancer cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year.

A 2007 report from the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Foundation reviewed hundreds of studies and found what researchers called “convincing evidence” that obesity was tied to several cancers. Those included cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, and kidneys. It also included colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer (a form of uterine cancer).

Researchers also said it was “probable” that excess abdominal fat was a cause of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Experts took estimates of obesity’s influence on cancer and applied them to a breakdown of the approximately 1.6 million U.S. cancer cases per year.

The researchers estimate that excess body fat is the cause of 33,000 breast cancer cases each year, nearly one-sixth the total cases in postmenopausal women. Obesity could be to blame for nearly 21,000 cases of endometrial cancer and more than 13,000 cases of colorectal cancer per year.

Researchers stressed that the figures are only estimates, and that individual cancer cases can have many, inter-connected causes.

Click here for full report

Long-Term Aspirin Use Can Cause Internal Bleeding

September 8, 2009

Natural News

By Mike Adams

Although taking pain relievers like aspirin or ibuprofen over a period of at least 10 years can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, it can also significantly increase the risk for stomach or intestinal bleeding, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

• Taking aspirin, ibuprofen or similar pain relievers for at least 10 years significantly reduces the risk of colorectal cancer but also greatly increases the risk of serious bleeding in the stomach or intestines, a new study shows.
• The pain relievers offer no significant protection to patients who take them for less than a decade, says Andrew Chan, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and lead author of the article, published in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
• Based on the study’s results, Chan says, taking more than 14 aspirin a week might prevent one or two cases of colorectal cancer in a community of 10,000 people over a year.
• Women who took two regular, 325-milligram aspirin lowered their risk of colon cancer but only after taking the tablets for more than a decade, Chan says.
• For example, women who took more than 14 aspirin a week for at least 10 years had a 53% lower risk of colorectal cancer.
• Chan says his findings confirm the results of the Women’s Health Study, published in the same journal last month.
• In that 10-year study of nearly 40,000 women, scientists also found that taking low doses of aspirin, or 100 milligrams every other day, did not lower the risk of colon cancer.
• Ernest Hawk, a prevention expert at the National Cancer Institute, notes that previous studies have found that smaller doses of aspirin reduced the risk of colon polyps in only one to three years.
• Those earlier studies, in which doctors randomly assigned patients to take either aspirins or placebos, allow doctors to spot smaller changes in less time.
• Institute researchers are studying ways to make aspirin safer, such as by combining it with drugs that protect the stomach or with other drugs that seem to combat cancer growth, Hawk says.

Click here for the full report from Natural News