Just when I thought that mankind has come to its senses and and stopped threatening everyone who does not follow a strictly vegetarian diet with hell on Earth from cholesterol — the World Health Organisation has come up with yet another threat.
Processed meats are declared carcinogenic — not a great surprise to me, since they are laden with nitrites, a known poison and carcinogen. In developed countries curing meat with poisonous nitrites is required by law. Perhaps the powers that be should revise that.
Interestingly the WHO also says that red meat is “probably carcinogenic” which is in sharp contrast with some popular beliefs that grass fed beef and lamb are anti-cancer foods.
Blanket classification of all red meat as carcinogenic has created a world-wide outrage from the common people on social media as well as from world leaders.
Of course the effect of cooking should not be underestimated. North Americans tend to burn everything on a BBQ. We know that cooking can produce carcinogens even in something supposedly as innocuous as French fries. A different group of carcinogenic chemicals are produced when meat is burned.
Before even putting our everyday bacon and steak in the same category as tobacco one should at the very least conduct a study to distinguish the carcinogenic effect of the cooking and curing methods from those of the raw materials.
Meat causes cancer and heart disease, sugar causes diabetes, eggs are full of cholesterol, grains are full of gluten, vegetables are a breeding ground for bacteria that kill you real quick, they are also chock full of pesticides, the organic ones have mold growing on them and aflatoxin if a lot more carcinogenic than any meat, marine fish and sea food are chock full or mercury and other heavy metals, milk has lactose in it.
The only way to be completely safe is if you give up eating altogether and you starve to death before anything bad might possibly happen to you.
Further Readings:
Five questions about the WHO’s cancer-causing meat announcement answered – The Globe and Mail.
Processed meats do cause cancer – WHO – BBC News.
#FreeBacon topic sizzles on social media after WHO meat report | Reuters.
Bacon Causes Cancer? Sort of. Not Really. Ish. | WIRED.
Sodium nitrite on Wikipedia.
Anti-Cancer Foods: Grass Fed Beef | Eat and Beat Cancer.
On this site: Why is Fat Your Friend, Bacon.