Red meat increases cancer risk
Each bottle of beer you drink and steak you eat could be increasing your risk of bowel cancer, new research has found.
A University of Auckland researcher found people who consumed red meat even within recommended daily guidelines had a 20 per cent higher chance of developing bowel cancer than those who ate one-third as much.
They also linked alcohol – both beer and wine – to an increased risk of bowel cancer.
The research, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology yesterday, was authored by Dr Kathryn Bradbury, a senior research fellow at the University of Auckland.
Bradbury, with Oxford University Professor Tim Key and Dr Neil Murphy from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, studied the diets of nearly half a million British women and men, aged 40 to 69, over five years.
During that time, 2609 developed bowel (colorectal) cancer.
People who ate about 76g of red and processed meat a day on average – slightly more than the New Zealand-recommended upper limit of 71g per day – had a
20 per cent higher chance of developing bowel cancer compared with those who only ate about 21g a day. The risk rose 19 per cent with every 25g of processed meat, roughly equivalent to a rasher of bacon or slice of ham, eaten per day, and 18 per cent with every
50g of red meat consumed – a thick slice of roast beef or a lamb chop – the research showed.
Each bottle of beer or small glass of wine also increased bowel cancer risk by 8 per cent.