The TRUTH about cancer and the foods you love

Juicy steaks. Crisp roast potatoes. Even toast. They’ve all been vilified, but here we reveal...

THE news last week was enough to make anyone wonder what to believe about healthy eating. For more than a decade, Government agencies have warned us to cut down on the red and processed meat we eat. But last week, as one reporter put it: ‘ Health chiefs have revealed bacon is safe to eat after all!’

We had previously been told that more than a few rashers of bacon a week could increase our risk of bowel cancer by as much as 20 per cent. The safe daily limit for red meat was 70g – equivalent to half a beefburger, one- and- a- half sausages, or just a third of an 8oz steak.

Like most people, I was confused as to how seriously to take these claims, but cut back anyway. One in 14 men and one in 19 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime. And no one wants any additional risk. But then, last week, came

what appeared to be a major scientific flip-flop. A new review of the best available evidence – the very same evidence that underpinned worldwide guidance on meat consumption – suggested there was hardly any risk at all.

One of the contributors to the report, Dr Bradley Johnston, from Dalhousie University in Canada, said: ‘Any health benefits from staying away from meat are uncertain and, if they exist at all, are very small.

‘We suggest individuals continue their current consumption of red meat and processed meat.’

Anyone reading this would be forgiven for thinking: ‘They say one thing, then the opposite. I’m just going to ignore it all from now on.’

Experts, too, recognise that if there is too much conflicting advice the public will just switch off, which is not in anyone’s interests.

So how can you separate the myths from the genuine messages we should all be taking seriously to maximise the health benefits from our diet?

In an effort to clarify the issues, The Mail on Sunday has spoken to scientists who have devoted their careers to studying food and cancer.

Over the following pages, we’ll examine the most prevalent diet trends said to be linked to – or claim to protect against – cancer.

Is bacon safe or not? There have been health scares about roast potatoes and even toast – are they really true? How many portions of fruit and veg a day is enough to make a real difference to your risk of cancer? And should we cut out sugar?

WHAT follows are hopefully reliable answers based on the best scientific evidence. But, of course, it is important to point out that interpreting any claims about the effect of diet is fraught with difficulties.

In other areas of medicine, for example testing a new drug, there are clear-cut ways of measuring a specific effect. You take a group of patients, randomly divide them in two and give both groups pills, but only one group gets the active drug. The other is given a placebo. Then you look for differences.

But this is impossible to do when it comes to establishing whether, say, people who eat broccoli get cancer less often. For a start, the potential effects of broccoli may not be seen for decades.

Obviously, you cannot be certain that the groups allocated to eating broccoli will stick to it, or accurately report what they have eaten.

That’s why most nutritional claims are based on what are known as observational studies, which rely on people reporting what they eat and allowing researchers to get updates on their health as they age.

The trouble is, broccoli-eaters often have other healthy habits so you can’t be sure whether it was the broccolieating that caused a particular effect.

You also cannot tightly control their diets, so it becomes extremely difficult to work out whether broccoli caused an effect.

So despite huge advances in statistical analysis, many dietary claims – while made with the best of intentions to improve public health – are open to criticism and debate.

Much of it comes down to interpretation and how the findings are presented. Still, it is possible to cut t hrough t he hype and make an informed judgment, which is what we have tried to do here.

And what you do after that, ultimately, is up to you.