Real message about processed meat is reduced intake – Cansa

BACON and other processed meats have been categorised alongside tobacco and asbestos when it comes to cancer threat but the Cancer Association of South Africa’s said that doesn’t mean if you have salami for supper you’ll wake up with cancer the next morning.

Processed and red meats are firmly in the spotlight, undergoing massive scrutiny after the World Health Organisation warning which followed alarming research indicating just 50g of processed meat a day increases the chances of bowel cancer by as much as 18 percent.

Processed meat has been categorised as “carcinogenic to humans”, which constitutes a Group1 cancer threat – on the same level as asbestos and cigarettes. Red meat, meanwhile, has been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans”, which falls under Group 2.

Cansa’s Professor Michael Herbst said the WHO findings came as no surprise.

“Cansa has been advising the public for years to reduce their intake of red meat, because of research showing a strong link between red meat consumption and colorectal cancer.

“We have also, for years, been advising the public to limit their intake of processed meat, or better still to stay clear of processed meats.”

The report published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which falls under the WHO, is a compilation of 800 research reports which were examined by a panel of 22 scientists to look at the link between tumour growth and red and processed meat.

Herbst said: “In red meat, the problems seem to start when a chemical called haem, part of the red pigment in the blood, haemoglobin, is broken down in our gut to form a family of chemicals called N-nitroso compounds.

“These have been found to damage the cells that line the bowel, so other cells in the bowel lining have to replicate more in order to heal. And it is this ‘extra’ replication that can increase the chance of errors developing in the cells’ DNA – the first step on the road to cancer.”

On top of that processed red meats contains chemicals that generate N-nitroso compounds in the gut, such as nitrite preservatives.

But while processed meat may be classified in the same group as tobacco, Herbst warned that this didn’t mean it was as strongly cancer-causing.

“The classification only means that there is sufficient evidence that processed meat can cause cancer. It does not say if one has some salami for supper, that one will have cancer the next morning.”

On the flip side, Herbst said the same report highlighted the benefits of meat, and reducing intake was actually the main message.

The report said: “Red meat contains high biological value proteins and important micronutrients such as B vitamins, iron (both free iron and haem iron) and zinc.”

The South African Red Meat Industry Forum released a statement by Professor Hettie Schonfeldt, from the Institute of Food and Nutrition, on theirits website this week which highlighted the benefits of red meat.

Schonfeldt said cancer was a “multi-complex problem that could not be solved or blamed on one specific product or food group”.

She further highlighted that, on average, South Africans’ total dietary energy was primarily derived from carbohydrate sources, particularly maize meal and bread.

“Animal protein, such as red meats, is a favourite food in our diets, but the portions at a population level still remain smaller than that recommended by the SA Food-Based Dietary Guidelines.

“A surprisingly high intake of eggs and sardines were reported in a recent study in Gauteng investigating meat consumption, and the total intake of red meat, white meat, fish and eggs remained less than the recommended intake of up to 90g per day,” said Schonfeldt.

She also cited a major longterm study by Oxford University in the UK which showed no difference in colorectal cancer between meat eaters and vegetarians.

Professor Tim Noakes, who is well-known for his high fat Banting diet, with many Banting followers enjoying a hearty breakfast of sausages, bacon and eggs, was not going to be drawn into the red meat furore this week.

Noakes’s office said he was not willing to comment.

But earlier this week he took to Twitter, commenting: “If diabetic, to avoid cancer, keep insulin low, eat fat.”

DANGEROUS: Processed meat has been classified in the same group as tobacco.