Zero booze or bacon if you want to avoid cancer

PEOPLE should cut out alcohol and bacon entirely to slash their risk of cancer, a global blueprint on preventing the disease says.

Its authors said all sugary drinks should also be shunned, advising people to “stick to water” as part of efforts to cut their risk by up to 40 per cent.

The 10-point plan, issued by the The World Cancer Research Fund, follows a review of studies on 51 million people – the most comprehensive analysis yet of the causes of the disease. It links excess weight to at least 12 cancers – more than twice as many as a decade ago – and sets out how to cut the risks.

Researchers say evidence linking unhealthy lifestyles to cancer has grown since 2007, prompting tough recommendations. On current UK trends, obesity could overtake smoking as the lead cause of cancer within 20 years, they say.

Several studies have linked alcohol and processed meats to increased risks of cancer. Alcohol is most closely linked to breast cancer and processed meats such as bacon increase the chance of bowel disease. The new guidelines state that “alcohol is strongly linked to an increased risk of six cancers”.

“No level of intake” of processed meats will reduce cancer risks, and experts recommend only a limited intake of red meat. The recommendations, launched at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, highlight the risks caused by obesity. The 10-point plan sets out a package of lifestyle changes

to reduce the risk of cancer; such as being a healthy weight, physically active every day, and eating a varied diet, with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Dr Giota Mitou, a fund director, said the only drinks carrying no cancer risk were those containing neither sugar nor alcohol. “Sticking to water is best,” she said. The research warns that unhealthy lifestyles will fuel an increase in cancer cases globally by around 60 per cent within the next 40 years.

The review, led by Imperial College London, tracked all published studies involving 51 million people, 3.5 million of whom developed cancer.

“This is very robust evidence of what affects and doesn’t affect cancer risk,” Dr Mitou said. “With more countries adopting a westernised lifestyle … new cancer cases are predicted to be increased to 24 million annually worldwide by 2035.”

Dr Mitrou said: “Our recommendations work as a blueprint to beat cancer, because they are based on evidence that has now proved consistent for decades.” The study says those in sedentary jobs should take “special care” to build exercise into everyday life. Professor Linda Bauld, Cancer Research UK’S prevention expert, backed the findings but said that people should not worry about the occasional glass of wine or bacon sandwich.

♦ The “Mediterranean diet” hailed by health experts now barely exists in southern Europe, with the spread of junk food fuelling a soaring obesity rate there, researchers have found.