Reduce Red Meat Consumption to Cut Back on Colon Cancer
Posted April 5, 2008 at 05:00 PM by Alexandra Haller
Section: Her Health, Her Nutrition, Diet Myths, Healthy Eating, Vegetarianism, Her News
Americans must cut back on red meat consumption in order to lessen their predisposition towards developing colon cancer. This is the mandate from the American Institute for Cancer Research. They claim that the link between red meat and colon cancer is so evident that there should be a nationwide shift in the amount of beef, pork and lamb that is eaten everyday in this country.
The AICR had a panel of experts study the evidence and their findings are recorded in a report called Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. This team concluded that a healthy amount of meat per week would be 18oz.
Unfortunately, some people exceed these levels. Think of the Americans who eat bacon or sausage with breakfast, a fast food burger for lunch and then meatloaf or pork chops for dinner. They are putting themselves in a high-risk eating group. It doesn’t help that restaurants often compete for business by offering 9 or 12oz. servings of meat.
Cancer experts are urging people to experiment with vegetarian options and substitute fish and poultry a few times a week.
“The meat-and-potatoes mindset is slowly killing us,” said AICR Nutrition Advisor, Karen Collins, MS, RD. “We need to break ourselves of the notion that we need a hunk of red meat at every meal.”
Note that they are not calling for a complete eradication of red meat.
According to the AICR report’s analysis of the collected evidence, every 3.5 ounces (100 g) of red meat eaten per day increases risk for colorectal cancer by 30 percent. . . Given the huge number of people involved, the effect of red meat consumption on colon cancer incidence is immense, Collins said. “If there were a drug that was found to increase risk of a disease by 30 percent, it would get pulled off the shelves.”
Americans are on the right track when it comes to eating healthy. “The USDA’s Economic Research Service reports that the average American’s annual consumption of beef has decreased by nearly 14 pounds (224 ounces) since 1970.”
Keep in mind that diets that include lots of red meat are being linked to higher cholesterol, weight gain, and an increased risk of heart disease.
Choose your next meal wisely. Your life might depend on it.
AICR’s new brochure The Facts About Red Meat and Processed Meat gives practical, everyday advice for making a cancer-fighting transformation to your diet and provides more information on the science behind the meat-cancer link. The brochure can be read, ordered, or downloaded at http://www.aicr.org/redmeat.
Tags: aicr, american institute of cancer research, beef, cancer, cholesterol, colon cancer, health, heart disease, lamb, obesity, pork, poultry, red meat, steak, vegetarian, weight gain
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