Processed meats are a staple in Australian diets, but according to experts at UNSW Sydney they contribute to cancer risk.
Many of us have heard about a link between processed meats and colorectal cancer, which kills more than 5,000 Australians each year. Is this just a myth, or are we putting ourselves at increased cancer risk by including processed meats in our diet?
According to data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), we consumed approximately 110 kilograms per person per year in 2018, second only to the United States. Based on the last national diet survey in 2011-12, up to a quarter of the meat consumed has been salted, cured, fermented, smoked or otherwise processed.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) at the World Health Organization (WHO) assessed over 800 studies to understand the link between processed meats and cancer. Substantial evidence linked processed meats to colorectal cancer caused the IARC to classify processed meats as a carcinogen
So, how does this work? There are several explanations, the first and foremost being nitrites found in processed meat products.
Professor Bernard Stewart from the UNSW Medicine & Health states that these nitrites interact with the body to cause cancer-causing substances.
Additionally, cooking processed meats also has cause for cancer concern as well.
If processed meat is a carcinogen, shouldn’t they carry warning labels, like cigarettes? According to Prof. Stewart, it’s not that simple.
“On the one hand, the evidence concerning cancer causation by consumption of processed meats is as definitive as the evidence that tobacco smoke and asbestos cause lung cancer. On the other hand, the same level of preventative action is in no way warranted.”
Compared to tobacco smoke, which has a 25% risk of lung cancer for heavy smokers, processed meats carries a 6% colorectal cancer risk for frequent consumers. Meaning that although there is strong evidence, the actual impact of eating processed meats on cancer risk is relatively small.
Associate Professor Sara Grafenauer from UNSW Medicine & Health, who is an Accredited Practising Dietitian, is researching how eating whole grains may protect against colorectal cancer.
“The whole grain is a bundle of nutrients that has anti-carcinogenic properties,” A/Prof. Grafenauer said. “It contains many compounds that are stimulating antioxidant activity in the gut and are being protective.
“Also, because whole grains are fibrous, they can also bind carcinogens and remove them from the gut.”
With this knowledge, what’s on the menu this summer is for you to decide.