Page Summary: Clips, Quotes & Links to 100+ Science & News Reports on the Association of Red Meat Consumption with Higher Rates of Mortality/Death, Cancer, Heart Disease, Stroke, Diabetes, Kidney Disease, Obesity, Endometriosis …
For pages with 100s of reports on the higher disease rates associated with consumption of dairy, chicken, eggs and fish, click those links. And for a page with 100+ reports on the health benefits of plant-based diets.
= = = =
Page Menu – to jump to sections below regards red meat consumption and higher rates of:
+ Mortality: Increased Death Rates mostly from Cardiovascular Disease & Cancer plus studies specifically on…
+ Cardiovascular Disease: Increased Rates of CVD like Stroke & Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).
+ Cancer: Higher Rates of Cancer in general or of several sites / Statements by WHO & ACS / Studies specifically on: Colorectal cancer / Pancreatic cancer / Bladder cancer / Female cancers : Breast cancer, Endometrial cancer / Stomach Gastric cancer / Kidney cancer / Lung cancer / Esophagus Throat cancer / Immune system cancer / Carcinogenic Viruses in Meat & Dairy…
— News Media Reports about Higher Rates of Cancer Associated with Eating Meat Products.
— Links to Reports about how Cancer Rates are Increasing in Young People.
+ Diabetes: Higher Rates of Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus.
+ Other Illness: Endometriosis / Kidney Disease / Body Mass Index (BMI) & Obesity
+ Regards Chemical Contaminants in Meat Products like Pesticides & Hormones.
= = = =
Science Studies: Red Meat Consumption Associated with Higher Rates of Mortality (Increased Death Rates, a Shorter Lifespan).
The British Journal of Nutrition reports on a study covering 1,674,272 individuals: “Subjects in the highest category of processed meat consumption had 22 and 18 % higher risk of mortality from any cause and CVD [Cardiovascular Disease], respectively. Red meat consumption was found to be associated with a 16 % higher risk of CVD mortality… In the dose-response meta-analysis, an increase of 50 g/d in processed meat intake was found to be positively associated with all-cause and CVD mortality, while an increase of 100 g/d in red meat intake was found to be positively associated with CVD mortality… The results of the present meta-analysis indicate that processed meat consumption could increase the risk of mortality from any cause and CVD…”
Reference: “Association between total, processed, red and white meat consumption and all-cause, CVD and IHD mortality: a meta-analysis of cohort studies”, Br J Nutr. 2014 Sep 14;112(5):762-75; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24932617
~ ~ ~
A 2019 report in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concludes: “Higher ratio of animal to plant protein in diet and higher meat intake were associated with increased mortality risk.”
The hazard ratios (HR) were 1.23; 23% more death.
Reference: “Dietary proteins and protein sources and risk of death: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study”, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019;
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ajcn/nqz025/5435773
~ ~ ~
From the Archives of Internal Medicine: “The study population included… half a million people aged 50 to 71 years at baseline… Men and women in the highest vs lowest quintile of red… and processed meat… intakes had elevated risks for overall mortality... men and women had elevated risks for cancer mortality for red… and processed meat… cardiovascular disease risk was elevated for men and women in the highest quintile of red… and processed meat…”
The specific hazard ratios (HR) for disease, for the highest vs lowest meat consumption levels, were:
– red meat and overall mortality: men 31% higher and women 36% higher.
– processed meat and overall mortality: men 16% higher and women 25% higher.
– red meat and cancer mortality: men 22% higher and women 20% higher.
– processed meat and cancer mortality: men 12% higher and women 11% higher.
– red meat and cardiovascular disease risk: men 27% higher and women 50% higher.
– processed meat and cardiovascular disease risk: men 9% higher and women 38% higher.
CONCLUSION: “Red and processed meat intakes were associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality.”
Reference: “Meat intake and mortality: a prospective study of over half a million people”, Archives Internal Medicine*, 2009 March 23;169(6):562-71; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19307518
* The journal has since renamed as JAMA Internal Medicine.
From a related clip by Dr Greger, “Meat & Mortality”, an excerpt: “So what does the largest study ever have to say about meat and mortality? Meat intake means increases in total mortality, cancer mortality, and cardiovascular mortality… Here’s the title of the accompanying editorial in the American Medical Association’s Archives of Internal Medicine: “Reducing Meat Consumption Has Multiple Benefits for the World’s Health,” calling for “a major reduction in total meat intake.” They do particularly pick on processed meats, but in terms of global crises: “There is a…tsunami brewing, namely, we are seeing the confluence of growing constraints on water, energy, and food [supplies] combined with the rapid shift toward greater consumption of all animal source foods,” which, they note, are “inefficient, wasteful, and polluting.”
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM4ldr_xdc8
Text: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/meat-mortality/
~ ~ ~
The conclusion of a 2019 report in the British Medical Journal states: “Increases in red meat consumption, especially processed meat, were associated with higher overall mortality rates.”
The study covered more than 80,000 people. From the study’s results section: “An increase in total red meat consumption of at least half a serving per day was associated with a 10% higher mortality risk … The association between increased red meat consumption and mortality risk was consistent across subgroups defined by age, physical activity, dietary quality, smoking status, or alcohol consumption.”
From the introduction: “A large body of evidence has shown that higher red meat consumption, especially processed red meat, is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, including colorectal cancer, and mortality.
Consumption of processed red meat (eg, bacon, hot dogs, and sausages) has been associated with additional health outcomes, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, and hypertension.
Components of red and processed meats such as proatherosclerotic lipids (eg, saturated fat), potential carcinogens (eg, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), sodium, and preservatives could contribute to adverse health outcomes.”
Reference: “Association of changes in red meat consumption with total and cause specific mortality among US women and men: two prospective cohort studies”, BMJ 2019;365:l2110; https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l2110
~ ~ ~
A study of 536,969 people reported in the British Medical Journal in 2017 states: “Conclusions: The results show increased risks of all cause mortality and death due to nine different causes associated with both processed and unprocessed red meat, accounted for, in part, by heme iron and nitrate/nitrite from processed meat…
Mortality risk increased with each fifth increase in red meat intake … with a significant trend… All causes of death, except Alzheimer’s disease, showed such increases, but the strongest association was seen for the risk of death due to chronic liver disease (hazard ratio 2.30, 1.78 to 2.99). The association with overall mortality was present for both unprocessed red meat and processed red meat. When analyzing the effects of a fixed intake increase (20 g/1000 kcal/day) on the outcomes, we found little difference between processed and unprocessed red meat, except for chronic liver disease, which was more strongly associated with unprocessed red meat…”
Reference: “Mortality from different causes associated with meat, heme iron, nitrates, and nitrites in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study: population based cohort study”, BMJ 2017; 357; at http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1957
~ ~ ~
From an article on the Harvard Medical School site titled “Cutting red meat-for a longer life”, some excerpts:
“Red meat: in addition to raising the risk for colorectal cancer and other health problems, it can actually shorten your life. That’s the clear message of the latest research based on data from two ongoing, decades-long Harvard School of Public Health studies of nurses and other health professionals… “This study provides clear evidence that regular consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, contributes substantially to premature death,” according to Dr. Frank Hu, one of the senior scientists involved in the study and a professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health…
The populations scrutinized included about 84,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and 38,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
People in the study who ate the most red meat tended to die younger, and to die more often from cardiovascular disease and cancer. These people also tended to weigh more, exercise less, smoke tobacco more, and drink more alcohol than healthier people in the study. Yet even when the researchers compensated for the effects of unhealthy lifestyle, mortality and meat remained associated…
The study determined that each additional daily serving of red meat increased risk of death by 13%. The impact rose to 20% if the serving was processed, as in food items like hot dogs, bacon, and cold cuts…”
Article is at https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/cutting-red-meat-for-a-longer-life
The study’s conclusion states: “Red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, CVD, and cancer mortality. Substitution of other healthy protein sources for red meat is associated with a lower mortality risk.”
Regards specific results: “the pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval of total mortality was”:
+ 13% higher with an HR of “1.13 … for 1-serving per day increase of unprocessed red meat”;
+ 20% higher with an HR of “1.20 … for processed red meat.”
The corresponding HRs for CVD mortality:
+ 18% higher, an HR of 1.18 for unprocessed red meat;
+ 21% higher, an HR of 1.21 for processed red meat.
The corresponding HRs for cancer mortality:
+ 10% higher, an HR of 1.10 for unprocessed red meat;
+ 16% higher, an HR of 1.16 for processed red meat.
The report also states: “In the substitution analyses, replacing 1-serving/d of total red meat with 1-serving/d of fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy products, or whole grains was associated with a lower risk of total mortality …”
The specific reductions in the total death rates were:
– 19% for nuts
– 14% for whole grain.
– 14% for poultry
– 10% for legumes
– 10% for low-fat dairy products
– 7% for fish
Reference: “Red meat consumption and mortality: results from 2 prospective cohort studies”, Archives of Internal Medicine*, 2012 Apr 9;172(7):555-63; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3712342/ and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22412075
* The journal has since renamed as JAMA Internal Medicine.
A related news report is titled “Eating red meat raises ‘substantially’ risk of cancer or heart disease death” at https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/mar/12/red-meat-death-heart-cancer
~ ~ ~
Regards a study on meat consumption and higher rates of dying (mortality) the American Journal of Epidemiology reports: “These results indicate that high consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, may increase all-cause mortality.”
The specific “summary relative risks of all-cause mortality for the highest versus the lowest category of consumption were”: 1.10 for unprocessed red meat; 1.23 for processed meat; 1.29 for total red meat; meaning death rates were higher by 10%, 23% and 29%.
Reference: “Red meat and processed meat consumption and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis”, American Journal of Epidemiology, 2014 Feb 1;179(3):282-9; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24148709 and article at https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/179/3/282/103471
~ ~ ~
“Is Meat Killing Us?” is the title of a 2014 report in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. Excerpts: “Does Meat Consumption Increase Mortality? In a 2014 meta-analysis and systematic review… reviewed 9 prospective cohort studies conducted in the United States, Europe, and China. They evaluated the association of processed meat (eg, bacon, sausage, salami, hot dogs, ham), unprocessed red meat (eg, uncured, unsalted beef; pork; lamb; game), and total red meat with all-cause mortality in more than 1 million people over follow-up periods ranging from 5.5 to 28 years. All-cause mortality for the highest vs lowest category of processed meat and total red meat intake was statistically significant (RR, 1.23 [95% CI, 1.17-1.28] and RR, 1.29 [95% CI, 1.21-1.35], respectively). Unprocessed red meat consumption increased all-cause mortality in the US cohorts (RR, 1.23 [95% CI, 1.17-1.30])… In addition, the steepest increase in mortality was found at the smallest increases of intake from the reference ranges of 0.6 g/d (0.02 oz/d) of processed meat and 13.9 g/d (0.49 oz/d) of total red meat, indicating that even a small amount of meat may have an impact on mortality risk…”
Reference: “Is Meat Killing Us?”, The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, May 2016, Vol. 116, 296-300; at http://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2517494
From a related news report: “A study has shown going vegetarian for at least 17 years can extend your life expectancy by 3.6 years. Eating meat, especially red and processed meats, was linked to higher mortality rates… death from all causes was higher for those who regularly eat meat…” at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/08/vegetarians-live-four-years-longer-according-to-experts/
~ ~ ~
(click image to open a larger clearer version in another window)
~ ~ ~
“One of the most consistent epidemiological associations between diet and human disease risk is the impact of red meat consumption (beef, pork, and lamb, particularly in processed forms). While risk estimates vary, associations are reported with all-cause mortality, colorectal and other carcinomas, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and possibly other inflammatory processes…”
From a 2016 report in the journal Molecular Aspects of Medicine at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27421909
~ ~ ~
A 2016 Cambridge University report on 150,328 deaths concluded: “The present meta-analysis indicates that higher consumption of total red meat and processed meat is associated with an increased risk of total, cardiovascular and cancer mortality.”
Specifically: “For processed meat, the pooled relative risk with an increase of one serving per day was 1·15 (95 % CI 1·11, 1·19) for all-cause mortality (five studies; P<0·001 for linear trend), 1·15 (95 % CI 1·07, 1·24) for cardiovascular mortality (six studies; P<0·001) and 1·08 (95 % CI 1·06, 1·11) for cancer mortality (five studies; P<0·001). Similar associations were found with total meat intake…”
Reference: “Red and processed meat consumption and mortality: dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies”, Public Health Nutrition, 2016 Apr;19(5):893-905; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26143683
See also https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/red-and-processed-meat-consumption-and-mortality-doseresponse-meta-analysis-of-prospective-cohort-studies/C8A39FB2079E0A70FB9F89DC1EBC0448
~ ~ ~
A report in the Journal of Internal Medicine is described as being “a comprehensive summary… of the accumulated evidence based on prospective cohort studies regarding the potential adverse health effects of red meat consumption on major chronic diseases.”
The conclusion states: “it is plausible to conclude that high consumption of red meat, and especially processed meat, is associated with an increased risk of several major chronic diseases and preterm mortality.”
Specific findings include that “Based on at least six cohorts, summary results for the consumption of unprocessed red meat of 100 g day-1″ were associated with “significantly increased risk” of:
+ 11% more stroke
+ 11% more breast cancer
+ 15% more cardiovascular mortality
+ 17% more colorectal cancer
+ 19% more advanced prostate cancer
Regards “the consumption of 50 g day-1 processed meat, the risks were statistically significantly increased for most of the studied diseases”, including:
+ 4% more total prostate cancer
+ 8% more cancer mortality
+ 9% more breast cancer
+ 18% more colorectal cancer
+ 19% more pancreatic cancer
+ 13% more stroke
+ 22% more total mortality
+ 24% more cardiovascular mortality
+ 32% more diabetes.
In addition the report notes: “Production of red meat involves an environmental burden. Therefore, some European countries have already integrated these two issues, human health and the ‘health of the planet’, into new dietary guidelines and recommended limiting consumption of red meat.”
Reference: “Potential health hazards of eating red meat”, Journal of Internal Medicine, 2016-2017 Feb;281(2):106-122; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27597529 and https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joim.12543
~ ~ ~
Study Finds Higher Rates of Death (Mortality) in People Who Eat the Most Red Meat Regardless of their Fruit & Vegetable Consumption.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported in 2016: “High red meat consumption is associated with a shorter survival and higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and all-cause mortality. Fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption is associated with a longer survival and lower mortality risk.” The purpose of their study of 74,645 people was “to determine whether the association between red meat consumption and the risk of all-cause, CVD, and cancer-specific mortality differs across amounts of FV intake.” They found that “Compared with participants in the lowest quintile of total red meat consumption, those in the highest quintile had a 21% increased risk of all-cause mortality… a 29% increased risk of CVD mortality… Results were remarkably similar across amounts of FV consumption, and no interaction between red meat and FV consumption was detected.”
Their conclusion: “High intakes of red meat were associated with a higher risk of all-cause and CVD mortality. The increased risks were consistently observed in participants with low, medium, and high FV consumption.”
Reference: “High red meat intake and all-cause cardiovascular and cancer mortality: is the risk modified by fruit and vegetable intake?”, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2016 Oct;104(4):1137-1143; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27557655
~ ~ ~
A 2016 study published in a journal of the American Medical Association reported that “Replacing animal protein of various origins with plant protein was associated with lower mortality… Of the 131 342 participants… After adjusting for major lifestyle and dietary risk factors, animal protein intake… was associated with higher cardiovascular mortality… Plant protein was associated with lower all-cause mortality… and [lower] cardiovascular mortality…”
Reference: “Association of Animal and Plant Protein Intake With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality”, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2016 Oct 1;176(10):1453-1463; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27479196 and https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2540540
~ ~ ~
From a 2018 news report: “Third of early deaths could be prevented by everyone giving up meat, Harvard says… at least 200,000 lives could be saved each year…
Dr Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Medical School said: “We have just been doing some calculations looking at the question of how much could we reduce mortality shifting towards a healthy, more plant based diet, not necessarily totally vegan, and our estimates are about one third of deaths could be prevented.
“That’s not even talking about physical activity or not smoking, and that’s all deaths, not just cancer deaths. That’s probably an underestimate as well as that doesn’t take into account the fact that obesity is important and we control for obesity.
“When we start to look at it we see that healthy diet is related to a lower risk of almost everything that we look at…”
Dr Neal Barnard… “A low-fat vegan diet is better than any other diet I have ever seen for improving diabetes. With regards to inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis we are seeing tremendous potential there too…”
Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/04/26/third-early-deaths-could-prevented-everyone-giving-meat-harvard/
~ ~ ~
From a 2007 report in Medical Hypotheses journal: “Dietary epidemiological studies indicate correlations between the consumption of red meat and/or processed meat and cancer of the colon, rectum, stomach, pancreas, bladder, endometrium and ovaries, prostate, breast and lung, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
The correlation of all these major diseases with dietary red meat indicates the presence of factors in red meat that damage biological components.
This hypothesis will focus on the biochemistry of heme compounds and their oxidative processes … Heme catalyzed oxidations can damage lipids, proteins, DNA and other nucleic acids and various components of biological systems … Biochemical and tissue free radical damage caused by heme catalyzed oxidations is similar to that resulting from ionizing radiation. Oxidative biochemical damage is widespread in diseases.
It is apparent that decreasing the amount of dietary red meat will limit the level of oxidative catalysts in the tissues of the body …”
Reference: “Heme of consumed red meat can act as a catalyst of oxidative damage and could initiate colon, breast and prostate cancers, heart disease and other diseases.” Medical Hypotheses, 2007;68(3):562-4; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17045417
~ ~ ~
= = =
Red Meat Consumption & Increased Rates of Cardiovascular Disease (Stroke & Coronary Heart Disease):
In 2018 the International Journal of Epidemiology published a study regards cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. In the words of a summary report: “people who consumed large amounts of meat protein experienced a 60-percent increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD), while people who consumed large amounts of protein from nuts and seeds experienced a 40-percent reduction in CVD.” [1]
The study covered 81,337 men and women with 2276 CVD deaths during a mean follow-up time of 9.4 years. The specific hazard ratios they found for CVD mortality were:
– 1.61 for the ‘Meat’ protein factor.
– 0.60 for the ‘Nuts & Seeds’ protein factor.
These being “highest vs lowest quintile of factor scores”.
References:
[1] “Meat protein is unhealthy, but protein from nuts and seeds is heart smart. Study reports major comparison of animal, plant proteins.” Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180403111106.htm
[2] “Patterns of plant and animal protein intake are strongly associated with cardiovascular mortality: the Adventist Health Study-2 cohort”, International Journal of Epidemiology, 2018 Apr 2; https://academic.oup.com/ije/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ije/dyy030/4924399
~ ~ ~
Regards cardiovascular disease this 2015 report in Permanente Journal:
“A plant-based diet is increasingly becoming recognized as a healthier alternative to a diet laden with meat. Atherosclerosis associated with high dietary intake of meat, fat, and carbohydrates remains the leading cause of mortality in the US…
Polyphenols derived from dietary plant intake have protective effects on vascular endothelial cells…
Recently, metabolites of L-carnitine, such as trimethylamine-N-oxide [TMAO], that result from ingestion of red meat have been identified as a potential predictive marker of coronary artery disease (CAD).
Metabolism of L-carnitine by the intestinal microbiome is associated with atherosclerosis in omnivores but not in vegetarians, supporting CAD benefits of a plant-based diet.
Trimethylamine-N-oxide may cause atherosclerosis via macrophage activation…
This review provides a mechanistic perspective of the evidence for protection by a plant-based diet against atherosclerotic CAD.”
Reference: “A Plant-Based Diet, Atherogenesis, and Coronary Artery Disease Prevention”, Permanente Journal, 2015 Winter; 19(1): 62–67; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315380/
~ ~ ~
The American Journal of Epidemiology reports: “CHD mortality was associated with red meats (risk ratio = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.94) and dairy products (risk ratio = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.86) when substituted for servings per 1,000 kcal (4.2 MJ) of carbohydrate foods.” The conclusion of the study of 29,017 people states: “Long-term adherence to high-protein diets, without discrimination toward protein source, may have potentially adverse health consequences.”
Reference: “Associations of dietary protein with disease and mortality in a prospective study of postmenopausal women”, Am J Epidemiol. 2005 Feb 1;161(3):239-49; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15671256
~ ~ ~
2018 report “Is Too Much Protein Bad for Men’s Heart Health?” Excerpt: “Those who ate the most animal protein were 43 percent more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure; and those who ate the most dairy protein were 49 percent more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, compared with those who ate the least amounts of animal and dairy protein…”
Article: https://www.livescience.com/62687-high-protein-diet-heart-failure.html
The study: “Intake of Different Dietary Proteins and Risk of Heart Failure in Men”, Circulation: Heart Failure, 2018;11:e004531;
http://circheartfailure.ahajournals.org/content/11/6/e004531
For much more about the pros & cons of protein click that link for this site’s page with 50+ science news reports on the health advantages of obtaining protein from plant foods plus reports on the higher rates of disease and death associated with consuming protein from animal sources.
~ ~ ~
Increased Risk of Stroke from Eating Red & Processed Meats:
Regards meat consumption and stroke an analysis of 239,251 subjects concluded: “Findings from this meta-analysis indicate that consumption of red and/or processed meat increase risk of stroke, in particular, ischemic stroke.”
Specifically: “Comparing the highest category of consumption with lowest category, the pooled relative risks (RRs) of total stroke were 1.15… for total meat (red and processed meat combined) (n=4), 1.09… for red meat (n=5) and 1.14… for processed meat (n=5); the corresponding RRs of ischemic stroke (highest vs lowest quintile) were 1.15 [total meat]…, 1.13 [red meat]… and 1.19 [processed meat]…
In the dose-response analysis, the risk of stroke increased significantly by 10% and 13% for each 100 g per day increment in total and red meat consumption, respectively, and by 11% for each 50 g per day increment in processed meat consumption.”
Reference: “Red and processed meat consumption and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies”, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2013 Jan;67(1):91-5; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23169473
~ ~ ~
A 2016 report on 2,079,236 people by The Official Journal of the National Stroke Association concluded: “Our findings indicate that high consumption of red meat, especially processed red meat, will increase the risk of stroke.”
Specifically: “Total red meat consumption was associated with total stroke (RR = 1.14…), cerebral infarction (RR = 1.13…), and ischemic stroke (RR = 1.22…). A significant association was found between consumption of processed red meat and total stroke (RR = 1.17…). Consumption of fresh red meat was significantly associated with total stroke (RR = 1.13…) and ischemic stroke (RR = 1.15…)… A significant risk for total stroke could be observed when the consumption of total red meat was above 50 g/day, processed red meat was just above 0 g/day, and fresh red meat was above 70 g/day.”
Note: “RR” means “relative risks”.
Reference: “Red Meat Consumption and the Risk of Stroke: A Dose-Response Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies”, Journal of Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases, 2016 May;25(5):1177-1186; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26935118
~ ~ ~
Regards stroke a 2012 report in a journal of the American Heart Association concludes: “Results from this meta-analysis indicate that consumption of fresh red meat and processed red meat as well as total red meat is associated with increased risk of total stroke and ischemic stroke.”
Notes: The meta-analysis covered 329,495 participants. The relative risks (RR) of stroke for each serving per day increase, were:
– 1.11 for fresh red meat; 11% higher
– 1.13 processed meat; 13% higher.
– 1.11 for total red meat consumption; 11% higher.
“Among 4 articles with results for stroke subtypes, the risk of ischemic stroke was positively associated with consumption of fresh red meat” with RRs of:
– 1.13 for fresh red meat; 13% higher.
– 1.15 for processed meat; 15% higher.
– 1.12 for total red meat; 12% higher.
Reference: “Red meat consumption and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective studies”, Stroke, 2012 Oct;43(10):2556-60; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22851546
~ ~ ~
Regards stroke a 2015 report in a journal of the American Heart Association concludes: “This study supports the notion that consumption of red meat may increase the risk for ischemic stroke.”
Further notes: “We studied 11,601 adults… Red meat consumption was associated with increased stroke risk, particularly ischemic events…”
The hazard ratios for those who ate the most versus the least amounts were
– 41% higher for red meat
– 24% higher for processed meat
They also found that “higher egg consumption was found to be associated with risk for hemorrhagic stroke” with a hazard ratio of 1.41; meaning a 41% higher rate among those with the highest egg intake.
Reference: “Association of dietary protein consumption with incident silent cerebral infarcts and stroke: the ARIC study”, Stroke, 2015 Dec;46(12):3443-50; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4659717/
Click this link for a page with many science study reports on the higher rates of disease associated with egg consumption.
~ ~ ~
Eating Red Meat Associated with Higher Rates of Coronary Heart Disease:
Regards Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) the journal of the American Heart Association reports: “These data suggest that high red meat intake increases risk of CHD… in age-adjusted analyses, animal protein was associated with increased risk, and vegetable protein was associated with decreased risk… higher intakes of red meat, red meat excluding processed meat, and high-fat dairy were significantly associated with elevated risk of CHD… 1 serving per day of dairy products was associated with an increased risk… nuts, and beans were associated with decreased risk… 1 serving per day of nuts was associated with a 30%… lower risk of CHD compared with 1 serving per day of red meat… ” The study was of 84,136 women with “2,050,071 person-years of follow-up from 1980 through 2006”.
Reference: “Major dietary protein sources and risk of coronary heart disease in women”, Circulation, 2010 Aug 31;122(9):876-83 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20713902 and http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/122/9/876
~ ~ ~
A 2010 report in Circulation, a medical science journal, regards a meta-analysis of “20 studies” covering “1,218,380 individuals” concluded: “Consumption of processed meats… is associated with higher incidence of CHD [coronary heart disease] and diabetes mellitus…” More specifically it found “processed meat intake was associated with 42% higher risk of CHD (n=5; relative risk per 50-g serving per day=1.42…) and 19% higher risk of diabetes mellitus…”
Reference: “Red and processed meat consumption and risk of incident coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis”, Circulation, 2010 Jun 1;121(21):2271-83; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20479151
~ ~ ~
Regards coronary heart disease (CHD) and haem iron (which is obtained by eating animals) the European Heart Journal reports a study of 16,136 women: “High dietary haem iron intake was associated with a 65% increase in CHD risk… The results indicate that middle-aged women with a relatively high haem iron intake have an increased risk of CHD.”
Reference: “Dietary haem iron and coronary heart disease in women”, European Heart Journal, 2005 Feb;26(3):257-62; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15618055
= = =
Eating Meat Associated with Increased Cancer Rates:
From a 2007 article in the PLOS Medicine journal: “Red meat and processed meat have been associated with carcinogenesis at several anatomic sites… We investigated whether red or processed meat intake increases cancer risk at a variety of sites… The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-AARP Diet and Health Study is a cohort of approximately 500,000 people aged 50–71 y at baseline… Statistically significant elevated risks (ranging from 20% to 60%) were evident for esophageal, colorectal, liver, and lung cancer, comparing individuals in the highest with those in the lowest quintile of red meat intake. Furthermore, individuals in the highest quintile of processed meat intake had a 20% elevated risk for colorectal and a 16% elevated risk for lung cancer…
Conclusions: Both red and processed meat intakes were positively associated with cancers of the colorectum and lung; furthermore, red meat intake was associated with an elevated risk for cancers of the esophagus and liver.”
Reference: “A Prospective Study of Red and Processed Meat Intake in Relation to Cancer Risk”, PLoS Medicine, 2007 Dec; 4(12): e325 – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2121107/
~ ~ ~
A 2007 article in the PLoS Medicine journal is titled: “Meat Consumption and Cancer Risk.” The authors state: “The large international variation in incidence rates of cancer, together with findings from migrant studies, suggest that environmental factors such as diet are associated with cancer risk… it has been estimated that approximately 35% (range 10%–70%) of cancer can be attributed to diet, similar in magnitude to the contribution of smoking to cancer… Meat consumption in relation to cancer risk has been reported in over a hundred epidemiological studies from many countries with diverse diets…”
Reference: PLoS Med. 2007 Dec; 4(12): e345 – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2121650/
~ ~ ~
From a 1999 study reported in the American Journal for Clinical Nutrition: “Results associating diet with chronic disease in a cohort of 34,192 California Seventh-day Adventists are summarized… Cancers of the colon and prostate were significantly more likely in NON-vegetarians… and frequent beef consumers also had higher risk of bladder cancer. Intake of legumes was negatively associated with risk of colon cancer in nonvegetarians and risk of pancreatic cancer. Higher consumption of all fruit or dried fruit was associated with lower risks of lung, prostate, and pancreatic cancers…”
Reference: “Associations between diet and cancer, ischemic heart disease, and all-cause mortality in non-Hispanic white California Seventh-day Adventists”, Am J Clin Nutr September 1999, vol. 70 no. 3 532s-538s – http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/3/532s.full
~ ~ ~
Regards Red Meat and Cancer a 2012 report in The British Journal of Nutrition concludes “high intakes of red meat and Na [sodium] were significant risk factors of cancer… we found that the combined effects of dietary risk factors on overall cancer risk were greater than the individual effects…”
The study covered 26,815 people. Specific findings include “The risk of cancer in male was significantly increased among individuals who consumed at least 43 g red meat/d (or 300 g/week) compared with those who ate less than 43 g/d (or 300 g/week) (HR 1·41, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·94; P= 0·0382) after adjusting for confounding variables.”
The following hazard ratios (HR) were noted:
– 1.80 for cancer in “subjects older than or equal to 50 years of age”
– 1.41 for red meat consumption, Na intake and obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²) in men
– 2.34 for gastric cancer
– 1.56 for thyroid cancer
Reference: “Red meat consumption is associated with an increased overall cancer risk: a prospective cohort study in Korea”, The British Journal of Nutrition, 2014 Jul 28;112(2):238-47; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24775061 and full article at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/red-meat-consumption-is-associated-with-an-increased-overall-cancer-risk-a-prospective-cohort-study-in-korea/B2B06A289E35D59DDC99A0C6DB12B72E/core-reader
~ ~ ~
From a report by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States: “There is a long-standing epidemiological link between the consumption of red meat (beef, pork, and lamb) and the incidence of carcinomas, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality. Although such diseases have multifactorial origins, all are aggravated by chronic inflammation. Red meat-rich diets also correlate with circulating markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction…
Corroboration comes from the low rates of carcinomas in populations that consume very low levels or no red meat. Within the World Cancer Research Foundation report, red meat was among the top 10 factors associated with incidence and progression of carcinomas in all populations…”
Reference: “A red meat-derived glycan promotes inflammation and cancer progression”, PNAS, January 13, 2015 vol. 112 no. 2 – http://www.pnas.org/content/112/2/542.abstract
~ ~ ~
From the summary of a 2009 report in the Nutrition and Cancer journal: “High intake of meat, particularly red and processed meat, has been associated with an increased risk of a number of common cancers such as breast, colorectum, and prostate in many epidemiological studies. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are a group of mutagenic compounds found in cooked meats, particularly well-done meats. HCAs are some of most potent mutagens detected using the Ames/salmonella tests… Over the past 10 years, an increasing number of epidemiological studies have evaluated the association of well-done meat intake and meat carcinogen exposure with cancer risk. The results from these epidemiologic studies were evaluated and summarized in this review. The majority of these studies have shown that high intake of well-done meat and high exposure to meat carcinogens, particularly HCAs, may increase the risk of human cancer.”
Reference: “Well-Done Meat Intake, Heterocyclic Amine Exposure, and Cancer Risk”, Nutrition and Cancer, 2009, Volume 61 – Issue 4, Pages 437-446; at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01635580802710741
The WHO statement on Meat Consumption & Increased Rates of Cancer:
In 2015: “The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer agency of the World Health Organization [WHO], has evaluated the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat…
The IARC Working Group considered more than 800 studies that investigated associations of more than a dozen types of cancer with the consumption of red meat or processed meat in many countries and populations with diverse diets…
Processed meat was classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer…
The experts concluded that each 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%…
After thoroughly reviewing the accumulated scientific literature, a Working Group of 22 experts from 10 countries convened by the IARC Monographs Programme classified the consumption of red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A)…
This association was observed mainly for colorectal cancer, but associations were also seen for pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer…
Red meat refers to all types of mammalian muscle meat, such as beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse, and goat. Processed meat refers to meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation. Most processed meats contain pork or beef, but processed meats may also contain other red meats, poultry, offal, or meat by-products such as blood. Examples of processed meat include hot dogs (frankfurters), ham, sausages, corned beef, and biltong or beef jerky as well as canned meat and meat-based preparations and sauces…”
Reference Link: http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf
~ ~ ~
“Red meat products, especially those that have been processed, have a wide variety of carcinogenic molecules known to increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Thus, the outcome of this review is consistent with the recent findings of WHO.” That’s the conclusion of a study published in the Journal of Gastroenterology (2017) at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27913919
~ ~ ~
Medical Journal of Australia, 2013: “The World Cancer Research Fund now considers the evidence convincing that a high intake of red meat causes colorectal cancer. One mechanism that has been proposed, and confirmed in ileostomy studies, is that haem iron facilitates the formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds.”
Reference: “A plant-based diet – good for us and for the planet”, Med J Aust 2013; 199 (4 Suppl): S11-S16; https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2013/199/4/plant-based-diet-good-us-and-planet
~ ~ ~
American Cancer Society lists Meat Consumption as Carcinogenic; a Cancer-causing activity.
The website of the American Cancer Society lists the consumption of processed meat and red meat on their page titled “Known and Probable Human Carcinogens”. Processed meat is listed under the category of “Group 1: Carcinogenic to humans.” Red Meat is listed in the category of “Group 2A: Probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The page states “this document provides lists of substances and exposures that are known or suspected to cause cancer. The lists below have been developed by two highly respected agencies – the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the US National Toxicology Program (NTP)…” Reference: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/general-info/known-and-probable-human-carcinogens.html
~ ~ ~
Eating Red Meat Associated with Increased Occurrence of Cancer of the Colon & Rectum:
“Red and processed meat is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC)… In this population-based case–control study… Red and processed meat intake was associated with increased risk of colorectal (>1 time/day vs ≤1 time/week odds ratios 1.66, 95% CI 1.34–2.07), colon and rectal cancer…. These results support an association between red and processed meat and CRC risk…” Excerpt from a study reported in the European Journal of Epidemiology (2017) at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10654-017-0275-6
~ ~ ~
2019 news report: “Eating even a moderate amount of red or processed meat is linked with an increased risk of colorectal (bowel) cancer, according to a new study … published in the International Journal of Epidemiology … half a million UK adults”
– https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/17/health/colorectal-cancer-risk-red-processed-meat-study-intl/index.html
Regards colorectal cancer the International Journal of Epidemiology reports a study of around half a million people: “Participants who reported consuming an average of 76 g/day of red and processed meat compared with 21 g/day had a 20% … higher risk of colorectal cancer. Participants in the highest fifth of intake of fibre from bread and breakfast cereals had a 14% … lower risk of colorectal cancer.”
Reference: “Diet and colorectal cancer in UK Biobank: a prospective study”, International Journal of Epidemiology, 2019;
https://academic.oup.com/ije/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ije/dyz064/5470096#133824902
Related news report: “Even moderate intake of red meat raises cancer risk. Study finds People more or less keeping to NHS guidelines at higher risk than those who eat little” at
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/17/even-moderate-intake-of-red-meat-raises-cancer-risk-study-finds
~ ~ ~
“Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world. The vast majority of CRC cases have been linked to environmental causes rather than to heritable genetic changes. Over the last decades, epidemiological evidence linking the consumption of red and, more convincingly, of processed red meat to CRC has accumulated… This review first briefly summarizes the development of CRC followed by an in-depth overview and critical discussion of the different potential carcinogenic mechanisms underlying the increased CRC risk associated with the consumption of red and processed red meat.” From a 2016 report in the science journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25975275
~ ~ ~
“Epidemiology and experimental studies provide an overwhelming support of the notion that diets high in red or processed meat accompany an elevated risk of developing pre-neoplastic colorectal adenoma and frank colorectal carcinoma (CRC). The underlying mechanisms are disputed; thus several hypotheses have been proposed. A large body of reports converges, however, on haem and nitrosyl haem as major contributors to the CRC development, presumably acting through various mechanisms…” From a 2016 report in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25849747
~ ~ ~
Dr Greger clip: “Solving a Colon Cancer Mystery” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHngCYJNEAo
Excerpts: “Even though modern African diets may now be as miserably low in fiber as American diets, Africans still appear to have 50 times less colorectal cancer than Americans (our second leading cancer killer) … The diet of both African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans is rich in meat, whereas the native African diet is so low in meat and saturated fat they have total cholesterol levels averaging 139, compared to over 200 in the U.S. So yes, they don’t get a lot of fiber anymore, but they continue to minimize meat and animal fat consumption, supporting evidence that perhaps the most powerful determinants of colon cancer risk are the levels of meat and animal fat intake … There is a divergence of opinion as to whether it’s the animal fat, cholesterol, or animal protein that is most responsible for the increased cancer risk, as all three have been shown to have carcinogenic (cancer-causing) properties, but it may not really matter which component is worse, as a diet rich in one is usually rich in the others.”
Text transcript at:
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/solving-a-colon-cancer-mystery/
~ ~ ~
Report on Red and White Meat Consumption as Risk Factors for Colon Cancer:
A 1998 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology states: “The overall findings from this cohort identify both red meat intake and white meat intake as important dietary risk factors for colon cancer and raise the possibility that the risk due to red meat intake reflects a more complex etiology.”
Further notes about the study: “In a 6-year prospective study, the authors examined the relation between diet and incident colon cancer among 32,051 non-Hispanic white cohort members of the Adventist Health Study… A complex relation was identified whereby subjects exhibiting a high red meat intake, a low legume intake, and a high body mass experienced a more than threefold elevation in risk relative to all other patterns based on these variables… ”
Reference: “Dietary Risk Factors for Colon Cancer in a Low-risk Population”, American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 148, Issue 8, 15 October 1998, Pages 761–774; at https://academic.oup.com/aje/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009697
For more science reports on the increased rates of disease associated with chicken consumption and the higher disease risks associated with eating eggs click those links to open those pages on this site.
~ ~ ~
Meat Consumption & Increased Rates of Pancreatic Cancer:
Regards pancreatic cancer a 2009 report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute states: “High intake of dietary fats from red meat and dairy products was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a new study…
Men and women who consumed high amounts of total fats had 53% and 23% higher relative rates of pancreatic cancer, respectively, compared with men and women who had the lowest fat consumption. Participants who consumed high amounts of saturated fats had 36% higher relative rates of pancreatic cancer compared with those who consumed low amounts…
“[W]e observed positive associations between pancreatic cancer and intakes of total, saturated, and monounsaturated fat overall, particularly from red meat and dairy food sources. We did not observe any consistent association with polyunsaturated or fat from plant food sources,” the authors write. “Altogether, these results suggest a role for animal fat in pancreatic carcinogenesis.”…
Reference: “Dietary Fat Linked to Pancreatic Cancer”, JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Volume 101, Issue 14, 15 July 2009, Pages 969; at https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/101/14/969/2515862
The study covered 308,736 men and 216,737 women. The report concludes with: “In this large prospective cohort with a wide range of intakes, dietary fat of animal origin was associated with increased pancreatic cancer risk.”
Reference: “Dietary Fatty Acids and Pancreatic Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study”, J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009 Jul 15; 101(14): 1001–1011; at
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2724851/
A related clip by Dr Greger MD on the consumption of animal fat and pancreatic cancer. “The largest prospective nutrition study ever published suggests animal fat may play a role in the development of pancreatic cancer.”
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dhn67FYqtw
Text: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/largest-study-ever/
~ ~ ~
Regards pancreatic cancer the British Journal of Cancer reports on a study of 2,307,787 participants: “Findings from this meta-analysis indicate that processed meat consumption is positively associated with pancreatic cancer risk. Red meat consumption was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in men.”
The introduction of the report states: “Pancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal types of cancer, with a 5-year relative survival of about 5.5%…”
Specific results include that:
– “An increase in red meat consumption of 120 g per day was associated with an overall relative risk (RR) of 1.13”. That means a 13% increased risk of cancer.
– “Red meat consumption was positively associated with pancreatic cancer risk in men.” The RR of 1.29 means a 29% increased risk of cancer.
– “The RR of pancreatic cancer for a 50 g per day increase in processed meat consumption was 1.19”; meaning a 19% increased risk of cancer.
Reference: “Red and processed meat consumption and risk of pancreatic cancer: meta-analysis of prospective studies”, British Journal of Cancer, 2012 Jan 31;106(3):603-7; at https://www.nature.com/articles/bjc2011585 and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22240790
Related news reports include:
– A sausage a day increases risk of deadly pancreatic cancer. The Daily Telegraph, January 13 2012; https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9012040/A-sausage-a-day-increases-risk-of-deadly-pancreatic-cancer.html
– Processed meat ‘linked to pancreatic cancer’. BBC News, January 13 2012; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16526695
– Two rashers of bacon a day could kill you, experts warn. Daily Mirror, January 13 2012; https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/two-rashers-of-bacon-a-day-could-158337
– Daily fry up boosts cancer risk by 20 per cent. Daily Express, January 13 2012; https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/295296/Daily-fry-up-boosts-cancer-risk-by-20-per-cent
~ ~ ~
Regards pancreatic cancer a study of 322,846 people reports: “We assessed total, red, white and processed meat intake, meat cooking methods and doneness and heme iron and mutagen intake in relation to pancreatic cancer… Pancreatic cancer risk significantly increased with intake of total meat…”
Specific results include the following hazard ratios (HR) for those in the highest section of consumption:
– 1.20 for total meat; 20% increased risk.
– 1.22 for red meat; 22% increased risk.
– 1.21 for high-temperature cooked meat; 21% increased risk.
– 1.24 for grilled/barbequed meat; 24% increased risk.
– 1.32 for well/very well done meat; 32% increased risk.
– 1.21 for heme iron from red meat; 21% increased risk.
– 1.33 for white meat intake in women; 33% increased risk.
Reference: “Are meat and heme iron intake associated with pancreatic cancer? Results from the NIH-AARP diet and health cohort”, International Journal of Cancer, 2016 May 1;138(9):2172-89; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26666579
~ ~ ~
Regards meat consumption and pancreatic cancer the American Gastroenterological Association reported in 2017 a study of over 6 million people – the conclusion: “In a systematic review and meta-analysis, we found case-control but not cohort studies to associate consumption of red and processed meat with risk of pancreatic cancer. However, in cohort studies, consumption of red and processed meat appeared to increase risk of pancreatic cancer in men but not in women.”
More specifically: “In cohort studies, a 100 g/day increase in red meat consumption was associated with significant increase in risk of pancreatic cancer (P = .01)…”
Reference: “Association Between Consumption of Red and Processed Meat and Pancreatic Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis”, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2017 Apr;15(4):486-493.e10; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27693521
~ ~ ~
Regards pancreatic cancer a study of 190,545 people concluded: “Red and processed meat intakes were associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.”
The comments include: “Pancreatic cancer is the most fatal cancer in adults… ranks fourth among U.S. cancer deaths, and the 5-year survival rate is less than 5%…
The strongest association was with processed meat; those in the fifth quintile of daily intake (g/1000 kcal) had a 68% increased risk compared with those in the lowest quintile.” Also that consumption of “pork and of total red meat were both associated with 50% increases in risk, comparing the highest with the lowest quintiles.”
Reference: “Meat and Fat Intake as Risk Factors for Pancreatic Cancer: The Multiethnic Cohort Study”, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2005 Oct 5;97(19):1458-65; at https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/97/19/1458/2521394 and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16204695
~ ~ ~
A 2017 report in the Pancreas science journal is titled “Higher Meat Intake Is Positively Associated With Higher Risk of Developing Pancreatic Cancer…” It analysed 23,133 participants.
Reference: “Higher Meat Intake Is Positively Associated With Higher Risk of Developing Pancreatic Cancer in an Age-Dependent Manner and Are Modified by Plasma Antioxidants: A Prospective Cohort Study (EPIC-Norfolk) Using Data From Food Diaries”, Pancreas, 2017 May/Jun;46(5):672-678; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28375948
~ ~ ~
Meat Consumption & Higher Rates of Bladder Cancer:
Regards cancer of the bladder a 2012 study in the journal Medical Oncology reports: “high red and processed meat consumer had a significantly increased 17 and 10% risk, respectively, when comparing the highest with the lowest category of meat intake…” The report was a meta analysis of 10 cohort studies and 11 case-control studies.
Reference: “Meat intake and risk of bladder cancer: a meta-analysis”, Medical Oncology, 2012 Jun;29(2):848-55; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24395380
~ ~ ~
Meat & Dairy Consumption & Higher Rates of Cancer in Women – Breast, Ovarian, Endometrial, Uterine Cancers:
A 2005 report in science journal Medical Hypotheses concluded “In conclusion, increased consumption of animal-derived food may have adverse effects on the development of hormone-dependent cancers.”
More specifically they stated: “The correlation of incidence and mortality rates with environmental variables in worldwide countries provides useful clues to the etiology of cancer. In this study, we correlated incidence rates for breast, ovarian, and corpus uteri cancers… with food intake… in 40 countries.
Meat was most closely correlated with the breast cancer incidence (r=0.827), followed by milk (0.817) and cheese (0.751). Stepwise multiple-regression analysis (SMRA) identified meat as the factor contributing most greatly to the incidence of breast cancer ([R]=0.862).
Milk was most closely correlated with the incidence of ovarian cancer (r=0.779), followed by animal fats (0.717) and cheese (0.697). SMRA revealed that milk plus cheese make the greatest contribution to the incidence of ovarian cancer ([R]=0.767).
Milk was most closely correlated with corpus uteri cancer (r=0.814), followed by cheese (0.787). SMRA revealed that milk plus cheese make the most significant contribution to the incidence of corpus uteri cancer ([R]=0.861)...
Among dietary risk factors, we are most concerned with milk and dairy products, because the milk we drink today is produced from pregnant cows, in which estrogen and progesterone levels are markedly elevated.”
Reference: “The possible role of female sex hormones in milk from pregnant cows in the development of breast, ovarian and corpus uteri cancers”, Med Hypotheses, 2005;65(6):1028-37; at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987705003543
~ ~ ~
More Scientific Studies Find that Eating Red Meat is Associated with Higher Rates of Breast Cancer in Women:
Regards red meat consumption and breast cancer the British Medical Journal reported in 2014 a study of 88,803 women: “Higher intake of total red meat was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer overall (relative risk 1.22… for highest fifth v lowest fifth of intake)… In estimating the effects of exchanging different protein sources, substituting one serving/day of legumes for one serving/day of red meat was associated with a 15% lower risk of breast cancer among all women… and a 19% lower risk among premenopausal women…”
Reference: “Dietary protein sources in early adulthood and breast cancer incidence: prospective cohort study”, BMJ. 2014 Jun 10;348:g3437; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24916719
~ ~ ~
Regards breast cancer the British Journal of Cancer reports: “For the 19 studies that examined food intake, the summary relative risks were 1.18 (95% CI 1.06-1.32) for meat, 1.17 (95% CI 1.04-1.31) for milk, and 1.17 (95% CI 1.02-1.36) for cheese.”
An RR of 1.18 denotes a 18% higher rate of cancer.
Reference: “A meta-analysis of studies of dietary fat and breast cancer risk”, Br J Cancer. 1993 Sep;68(3):627-36; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8353053
~ ~ ~
A 2007 report on more than 35,000 women concluded: “Women, both pre- and postmenopausal, who consumed the most meat had the highest risk of breast cancer.”
Specific notes about Hazard ratios (HRs): “High consumption of total meat compared with none was associated with premenopausal breast cancer, HR=1.20”; meaning a 20% higher risk.
Likewise for “high non-processed meat intake compared with none, HR=1.20”; 20% higher risk.
“Larger effect sizes were found in postmenopausal women for all meat types, with significant associations with total, processed and red meat consumption. Processed meat showed the strongest HR=1.64 [meaning 64% higher risk] for high consumption compared with none.”
Reference: “Meat consumption and risk of breast cancer in the UK Women’s Cohort Study”, British Journal of Cancer, 2007 Apr 10;96(7):1139-46; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17406351
~ ~ ~
Regards breast cancer and red meat consumption the American Association for Cancer Research reported in 2008 a study of 39,268 women: “Compared with women in the lowest quintile of red meat intake during high school, the multivariate-adjusted RR [relative risks] for the highest quintile of intake was 1.34… A significant linear association was observed with every additional 100 g of red meat consumed per day (RR, 1.20…). This association was more pronounced in hormone receptor-positive tumors (RR, 1.36…)”
Reference: “Red meat consumption during adolescence among premenopausal women and risk of breast cancer”, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 2008 Aug;17(8):2146-51.; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18669582
~ ~ ~
Regards the increased risks of breast cancer from eating red meat the International Journal of Cancer reported in 2015 a study of 44,231 women: “greater consumption of total red meat in adolescence was significantly associated with higher premenopausal breast cancer risk (highest vs. lowest quintiles, RR, 1.43…)… Substituting other dietary protein sources for red meat in adolescent diet may decrease premenopausal breast cancer risk.”
Reference: “Adolescent meat intake and breast cancer risk”, International Journal of Cancer, 2015 Apr 15;136(8):1909-20; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25220168
~ ~ ~
Regards the consumption of red meat and increased rates of breast cancer, the International Journal of Cancer reports on a study of 193,742 women: “Total red meat intake was positively associated with risk of regional/distant cancer … The risk was 25% higher in the highest vs. lowest intake quintile … Higher processed red meat intake (Q5 vs. Q1) was associated with 27% higher risk of localized breast cancer … and a 19% higher risk of regional/distant cancer … In addition, higher nitrite intake from processed red meat was positively associated with localized cancer … Heme iron intake was positively associated with breast cancer risk overall and all cancer stages … Our findings suggest that high consumption of red meat and processed meat may increase risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Added nitrite and heme iron may partly contribute to these observed associations.”
Reference: “Red and processed meat, nitrite, and heme iron intakes and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study”, International Journal of Cancer, 2016 Apr 1;138(7):1609-18; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26505173
~ ~ ~
Regards breast cancer the British Journal of Cancer reports the findings of a meta-analysis: “Combined estimates of risk for total and saturated fat intake, and for meat intake, all indicate an association between higher intakes and an increased risk of breast cancer. Case-control and cohort studies gave similar results …
The summary relative risk [RR], comparing the highest and lowest levels of intake of total fat, was 1.13 … Significant summary relative risks were also found for saturated fat (RR, 1.19; 95% CI: 1.06-1.35) and meat intake (RR, 1.17; 95% CI 1.06-1.29).” An RR of 1.17 infers a 17% higher rate of disease.
Reference: “Dietary fat and breast cancer risk revisited: a meta-analysis of the published literature” Br J Cancer. 2003 Nov 3;89(9):1672-85; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14583769
~ ~ ~
International Journal of Cancer: “Comparing the highest to the lowest category, red meat (unprocessed) consumption was associated with a 6% higher breast cancer risk … and processed meat consumption was associated with a 9% higher breast cancer risk …”
The study was “a random‐effect meta‐analysis. We identified 13 cohort, 3 nested case–control and two clinical trial studies.”
Reference: “Consumption of red and processed meat and breast cancer incidence: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of prospective studies”, International Journal of Cancer, Vol 143, Issue 11, 2018; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ijc.31848
~ ~ ~
Regards breast cancer the Nutrients journal reported in 2016 on analysis of forty-six prospective studies. The conclusion: “Higher total red meat, fresh red meat, and processed meat intake may be risk factors for breast cancer, whereas higher soy food and skim milk intake may reduce the risk of breast cancer.”
The summary relative risks (RR) for highest versus lowest intakes were:
– 1.07 for processed meat
– 0.92 for soy food
– 0.93 for skim milk
– 0.90 for yogurt.
“Similar conclusions were obtained in dose-response association for each serving increase” of:
– 1.07 for total red meat
– 1.13 for fresh red meat
– 1.09 for processed meat
– 0.91 for soy food
– 0.96 for skim milk
Reference: “Dietary Protein Sources and Incidence of Breast Cancer: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies”, Nutrients. 2016 Nov 17;8(11). pii: E730; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27869663
~ ~ ~
Click this link for a page with many science reports on the association of soy food and soy milk consumption with lower rates of several cancers and coronary heart disease and extended healthy lifespan.
~ ~ ~
Eating Meat Linked to Higher Rates of Cancer of the Endometrium:
Regards endometrial cancer a 2011 report on a study of 39,614 women states the “increase in the risk of endometrial cancer was associated with increased consumption” of meat with hazards ratios of: 62% higher for red meat; 45% higher for processed meat; and 50% higher for all meat combined; regards high vs. low intake of meat. The conclusion: “relatively high meat intake may be associated with increased risk of endometrial cancer.”
Reference: “Endometrial cancer and meat consumption: a case-cohort study”,
European Journal of Cancer Prevention, 2011 Jul;20(4):334-9; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21422932
~ ~ ~
Reports on Higher Rates of Stomach-Gastric Cancer Associated with Eating Red & Processed Meats like Bacon:
A 2006 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concludes: “Increased consumption of processed meat is associated with an increased risk of stomach cancer.”
Specific notes: “The estimated summary relative risks of stomach cancer for an increase in processed meat consumption of 30 g/day, approximately half of an average serving, were 1.15… for the cohort studies and 1.38… for the case-control studies… In three cohort and four case-control studies that examined the association between bacon consumption and stomach cancer, the summary relative risk was 1.37… for the highest versus lowest intake categories of bacon...”
Reference: “Processed meat consumption and stomach cancer risk: a meta-analysis”, J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 Aug 2;98(15):1078-87; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16882945
~ ~ ~
Regards meat consumption and gastric stomach cancer the medical journal Oncotarget reported in 2017 – “The summary relative risks of highest versus lowest consumption were”: 1.67 for red meat; and 1.76 for processed meat; regards case-control studies.
Reference: “Red and processed meat consumption and gastric cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis”, Oncotarget. 2017 May 2;8(18):30563-30575; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28430644
~ ~ ~
The conclusion of a 2013 meta-analysis on meat consumption and gastric cancer: “Our findings indicate that consumption of red and/or processed meat contributes to increased gastric cancer risk.” The relative risks for both were 1.45.
Reference: “Red and processed meat intake is associated with higher gastric cancer risk: a meta-analysis of epidemiological observational studies”, PLoS One. 2013 Aug 14;8(8):e70955; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23967140
~ ~ ~
From a 2006 report in the British Journal of Nutrition: “We have examined the current scientific evidence on the relationship between nutrition and the most frequent tumours in the Spanish population…” Regards eating animals it states: “Consumption of red and processed meat is positively associated with [higher rates of] colorectal cancer and probably with stomach cancer. Animal fat is possibly associated with colorectal cancer and probably with prostate and breast cancer…”
Regards plant foods: “Consumption of fruit is negatively associated with [meaning lower rates of] cancer of the lung and stomach, possibly with colorectal cancer, but probably not with prostate cancer and breast cancer. Consumption of vegetables probably reduces the risk of colorectal and stomach cancer, but probably is not associated with cancer of the lung, prostate and breast…”
Reference: “Nutrition and cancer: the current epidemiological evidence”, Br J Nutr., 2006 Aug;96 Suppl 1:S42-5; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16923250
See this link for more reports on the association of fruit and vegetable consumption with lower rates of degenerative diseases – another page on this site.
~ ~ ~
Meat Consumption & Higher Rates of Kidney Renal Cancers:
Regards the most common type of kidney cancer, renal cell carcinoma, the International Journal of Cancer reports on a study of 493,179 people: “Women with a high consumption of red meat (HR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.14-1.62; calibrated, per 50 g/day) and processed meat (HR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.05-3.03; calibrated, per 50 g/day) had a higher risk of RCC.”
That translates to a 36% higher risk for red meat and 78% for processed meat, for every 50 grams consumed daily.
Reference: “Meat and fish consumption and the risk of renal cell carcinoma in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition”, International Journal of Cancer, 2015 Mar 1;136(5):E423-31; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25258006
~ ~ ~
A 2016 report in The American Journal of Cancer states: “Meat-cooking mutagens, including heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are formed as a result of meat cooking, preparation, and level of doneness and may increase the risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC)… Dietary intake of the mutagenic compounds 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo-[4,5-f] quinoxaline (MeIQx) and 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) were significantly associated with an increased risk of RCC…
Conclusions: Intake of meat may increase the risk of RCC through mechanisms related to the cooking compounds MeIQx and PhIP…”
Reference: “Gene-environment interaction of genome-wide association study-identified susceptibility loci and meat-cooking mutagens in renal cell carcinoma etiology”, Cancer. 2016 Jan 1; 122(1): 108–115 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5016565/
~ ~ ~
Regards a study in the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, an NBC News report states: “University of Texas Study Links Meat to Kidney Cancer: Another study has shown people who eat more meat have a high risk of cancer. This time, it’s kidney cancer, researchers reported Monday.
And it’s not just people who eat red meat, as many other studies have shown. People who eat more so-called white meat, such as chicken, have the higher risk, too…
People who said they ate the most grilled meat — red meat and chicken alike — had a higher risk of kidney cancer, they reported in the journal Cancer.”
Reference: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/university-texas-study-links-meat-kidney-cancer-n459811 The study is at http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/75/15_Supplement/836.short
Click these links for this site’s pages with many science reports on the higher rates of disease associated with chicken consumption and diseases associated with eating eggs.
~ ~ ~
Meat Consumption & Higher Rates of Lung Cancer:
Lung Cancer journal reports: “Consumption of red meat, was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer… while yellow-green vegetables are associated with a decreased risk of lung cancer…”
Specifically: “When comparing the fifth (highest) to the first (lowest) quintile of consumption of total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, we obtained odds ratios of 2.0 (1.3-3.1), 3.0 (1.9-4.7), and 2.0 (1.3-3.0) respectively… while an odds ratio of 3.3 (1.7-7.6) was obtained for red meat. The odds ratios for red meat consumption were similar among adenocarcinoma cases, OR=3.0 (1.1-7.9) and non-adenocarcinoma cases, OR=3.2 (1.3-8.3) and among life-time nonsmokers and ex-smokers OR=2.8 (1.4-5.4), and current smokers, OR=4.9 (1.1-22.3). Yellow-green vegetables were protective with an odds ratio of 0.4.”
Reference: “Lung cancer risk and red meat consumption among Iowa women”, Lung Cancer, 2001 Oct;34(1):37-46.; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11557111
~ ~ ~
Reports on Eating Meat & Higher Risk of Esophageal Throat Cancer:
A 2014 report in the journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences concludes “Meat consumption is associated with esophageal cancer risk… High meat intake, especially processed meat, is likely to increase esophageal adenocarcinoma risk…” Specifically they found “The summary RRs [relative risks] for esophageal cancer for the highest versus lowest consumption categories were 1.19… for total meat, 1.55… for red meat, 1.33… for processed meat…”
Reference: “Meat consumption is associated with esophageal cancer risk in a meat- and cancer-histological-type dependent manner”, Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 2014 Mar;59(3):664-73; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24395380
~ ~ ~
Regards esophageal (throat) cancer a 2013 study reported in Annals of Epidemiology concludes “Intake of red and processed meat may be associated with significantly increased risk of ESCC” meaning “esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.” The study of 6499 ESCC cases found that “Based on high versus low analysis, the summary relative risks of ESCC were 1.57… for red meat intake and 1.55… for processed meat intake…”
Reference: “Consumption of red and processed meat and risk for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma based on a meta-analysis”, Annals of Epidemiology, 2013 Dec;23(12):762-770.e1; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24176821
~ ~ ~
Meat Consumption & Cancer of the Immune System:
Regards lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes, the International Journal of Cancer reports from a study of 411,097 participants that: “A high intake of processed meat was associated with an increased risk of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (BCLL)” with the relative risk (RR) per 50 g intake being 1.31, meaning 31% higher.
Regards chicken they report: “we found that the consumption of poultry was related to an increased risk.” The relative risks (RR) per 10 g intake of chicken were:
– 1.22 being 22% higher for B-cell lymphomas
– 1.65 being 65% higher for follicular lymphomas (FL)
– 1.54 being 55% higher for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (BCLL)
Reference: “Consumption of meat and dairy and lymphoma risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition”, International Journal of Cancer, 2011 Feb 1;128(3):623-34; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20473877
~ ~ ~
Regards cancer of the immune system a 2016 study concluded: “Foods of animal origin likely play a role in the aetiology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma, with red meat and dairy tending to increase the risk… Our findings reinforce the recommendations to reduce the consumption of red meat by replacing it with vegetables, legumes and fish…” The study was a review of more than 20,000 cases from thirty-three independent studies.
Reference: “Food of animal origin and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma: A review of the literature and meta-analysis”, Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, 2016 Apr;100:16-24; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26921971
= = =
Carcinogenic Viruses in Meat & Dairy Milk Products & Increased Risk of Cancer in Humans:
A 2015 article on the website of the University of Berkeley (USA) is titled “Virus in cattle linked to human breast cancer“. Some excerpts: “A new study by UC Berkeley researchers establishes for the first time a link between infection with the bovine leukemia virus [BLV] and human breast cancer…
They found that 59 percent of breast cancer samples had evidence of exposure to BLV, as determined by the presence of viral DNA. By contrast, 29 percent of the tissue samples from women who never had breast cancer showed exposure to BLV…
The new paper takes the earlier findings a step further by showing a higher likelihood of the presence of BLV in breast cancer tissue. When the data was analyzed statistically, the odds of having breast cancer if BLV were present was 3.1 times greater than if BLV was absent.
“This odds ratio is higher than any of the frequently publicized risk factors for breast cancer, such as obesity, alcohol consumption and use of post-menopausal hormones,” said Buehring.
There is precedence for viral origins of cancer. Hepatitis B virus is known to cause liver cancer, and the human papillomavirus can lead to cervical and anal cancers…
The virus could have come through the consumption of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat, or it could have been transmitted by other humans…
A 2007 U.S. Department of Agriculture survey of bulk milk tanks found that 100 percent of dairy operations with large herds of 500 or more cows tested positive for BLV antibodies. This may not be surprising since milk from one infected cow is mixed in with others. Even dairy operations with small herds of fewer than 100 cows tested positive for BLV 83 percent of the time…”
Reference: http://news.berkeley.edu/2015/09/15/bovine-leukemia-virus-breast-cancer/
~ ~ ~
A 2017 report by Dr Michel Greger is titled “The Role of Burger Viruses in Cancer. Polyoma viruses discovered in meat can survive cooking and pasteurization.”
Some excerpts: “Nearly 20% of cancer[s]…can be linked to infectious agents,” such as viruses... Polyomaviruses are a particular concern, not only because they are “known to be carcinogenic,” but because they can survive cooking temperatures. Because single burgers these days can contain meat from “many dozens of animals,” they figured it would “present an ideal situation for virus-hunting.” So, researchers at the National Cancer Institute just walked into three supermarkets, and grabbed meat right off the shelf, and found three different polyomaviruses in ground beef…
“Many people are exposed to potentially virus-contaminated meat and dairy products” through their diet, but those in the industry would be even more exposed. So, it would be interesting to see if these groups have higher cancer incidence. And indeed, it now appears clear that those who work “in the meat industry are at increased risk of developing and dying” from a variety of cancers.
Another “reason… to suspect the involvement of [some kind of] bovine infectious factor… in colorectal cancer” is the fact that countries that don’t eat a lot of beef appear to have relatively low rates of colorectal cancer. And, countries that all of a sudden started eating lots of meat had their rates shoot up…”
See the video presentation and transcript at https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-role-of-burger-viruses-in-cancer/
= = =
News Media Reports about the Higher Cancer Rates Associated with Eating Red Meat Products:
2018 report on the Mirror UK news site: “No amount of alcohol, sausage or bacon is safe according to cancer experts.” Excerpts: “Even small amounts of processed meats and booze increase the risk of a host of cancers outlined in World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) guidelines updated every decade.
The respected global authority has unveiled a 10-point plan to cut your risk of getting cancer by up to 40%….
On processed meats it added that “no level of intake can confidently be associated with a lack of risk of bowel cancer”.
Cutting down on steaks and other red meat such as lamb and pork can reduce the risk of bowel cancer…
Dr Giota Mitou, WRCF director of research, said: “When we talk about cancer prevention the strong evidence is that we need to follow a package of lifestyle behaviours… The best advice is not to eat processed meat…”
on current trends fat will overtake smoking as the number one risk cancer for cancer in 20 years…
Exercise also helps prevent people being overweight which is a known cause of almost all cancers…
Cancers of the liver, ovary, prostate, stomach, throat have been added to those of the bowel, breast, gallbladder, kidney, oesophagus, pancreas and womb which are directly caused by obesity…
Gail Curry, head of health at Bowel Cancer UK, said: “This study adds to the substantial evidence that processed meats such as bacon, ham, salami and some sausages can increase your risk of bowel cancer…
“We know that 41,800 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year, it’s the fourth most common cancer in the UK.”
– https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/bad-news-sausage-bacon-booze-12585028
~ ~ ~
“Yes, bacon really is killing us” is a 2018 article on The Guardian news site. Excerpts: “The WHO advised that consuming 50g of processed meat a day – equivalent to just a couple of rashers of bacon or one hotdog – would raise the risk of getting bowel cancer by 18% over a lifetime. (Eating larger amounts raises your risk more.) Learning that your own risk of cancer has increased from something like 5% to something like 6% may not be frightening enough to put you off bacon sandwiches for ever. But learning that consumption of processed meat causes an additional 34,000 worldwide cancer deaths a year is much more chilling. According to Cancer Research UK, if no one ate processed or red meat in Britain, there would be 8,800 fewer cases of cancer. (That is four times the number of people killed annually on Britain’s roads.)…
The WHO announcement came on advice from 22 cancer experts from 10 countries, who reviewed more than 400 studies on processed meat covering epidemiological data from hundreds of thousands of people. It was now possible to say that “eat less processed meat”, much like “eat more vegetables”, had become one of the very few absolutely incontrovertible pieces of evidence-based diet advice…”
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/01/bacon-cancer-processed-meats-nitrates-nitrites-sausages
~ ~ ~
From a 2013 article in The Independent (UK): “World Cancer Day: How meat can be murder. Warnings are now added to cigarettes, but what about meat consumption?”
Excerpts by Dr Neal Barnard: ‘Processed meat, bacon, sausage, ham and the like, is so strongly linked with bowel cancer – the 2nd largest cause of cancer death … that no one should ever eat it, according to a recent report by the World Cancer Research Fund & the American Institute for Cancer Research, based on a systematic review of more than 1,000 papers…
The World Health Organisation has determined that dietary factors account for at least 30 per cent of all cancer in Western countries and up to 20 per cent in developing countries …
Countries with a higher intake of fat, especially fat from animals, such as meat and dairy products, have a higher incidence of breast cancer. Analysis of data from almost 15,000 male physicians found that men who consumed red meat at least five times per week had a higher risk of developing prostate cancer than men who ate red meat less than once per week. Other studies have concluded that meat consumption may increase the risk of kidney and pancreatic cancer…’
Source: Independent Newspaper UK, 4th February 2013 – http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/world-cancer-day-how-meat-can-be-murder-8478738.html
~ ~ ~
2014 news report “Red meat triggers toxic immune reaction which causes cancer, scientists find.” Excerpts: “Red meat has been linked to cancer for decades, with research suggesting that eating large amounts of pork, beef or lamb raises the risk of deadly tumours. But for the first time scientists think they know what is causing the effect. The body, it seems, views red meat as a foreign invader and sparks a toxic immune response… pork, beef and lamb contains a sugar which is naturally produced by other carnivores but not humans. It means that when humans eat red meat, the body triggers an immune response to the foreign sugar, producing antibodies which spark inflammation, and eventually cancer…”
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11316316/Red-meat-triggers-toxic-immune-reaction-which-causes-cancer-scientists-find.html
~ ~ ~
The Guardian newspaper (UK) 2015: “Processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes – WHO. UN health body says bacon, sausages and ham among most carcinogenic substances along with cigarettes, alcohol, asbestos and arsenic…” From article at http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/26/bacon-ham-sausages-processed-meats-cancer-risk-smoking-says-who
~ ~ ~
2012 news report “Red meat is blamed for one in 10 early deaths.” Excerpts: “The Department of Health was last night urged to review its guidance on red meat after a study found that eating almost half the daily recommended amount can significantly increase the risk of dying early from cancer and heart disease… Small quantities of processed meat such as bacon, sausages or salami can increase the likelihood of dying early by a fifth, researchers from Harvard School of Medicine found. Eating steak increases the risk of early death by 12%.
The study found that cutting the amount of red meat in peoples’ diets to 1.5 ounces (42 grams) a day, equivalent to one large steak a week, could prevent almost one in 10 early deaths in men and one in 13 in women…”
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9138230/Red-meat-is-blamed-for-one-in-10-early-deaths.html
~ ~ ~
Daily Mail newspaper (UK) 2015: “Bacon, burgers and sausages are a cancer risk, say world health chiefs: Processed meats added to list of substances most likely to cause disease alongside cigarettes and asbestos.
– Fresh red meat is also due to join WHO ‘encyclopaedia of carcinogens’
– Rulings will send shock waves through farming and fast food industries
– Could lead to new dietary guidelines and warning labels on bacon packs
– Mounting concern that meat fuels disease that kills 150,000 a year in UK…”
From article at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3285490/Bacon-burgers-sausages-cancer-risk-say-world-health-chiefs-Processed-meats-added-list-substances-likely-cause-disease-alongside-cigarettes-asbestos.html
~ ~ ~
2012 news report “A sausage a day increases risk of deadly pancreatic cancer… by 19 per cent and the risk goes up if a person eats more, experts have said.” Excerpts: “Eating 50g of processed meat every day – the equivalent to one sausage or two rashers of bacon – increases the risk by 19% compared to people who do not eat processed meat at all.
For people consuming double this amount of processed meat (100g), the increased risk jumps to 38 per cent, and is 57 per cent for those eating 150g a day…
the disease is deadly – it is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage and kills 80% of people in under a year. Only 5% of patients are still alive five years after diagnosis… They examined data from 11 studies, including 6,643 cases of pancreatic cancer… Red meat consumption was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in men…”
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9012040/A-sausage-a-day-increases-risk-of-deadly-pancreatic-cancer.html
~ ~ ~
PBS News (USA) 2015: “Bacon, hot dogs and processed meats cause cancer, WHO says.”
Excerpts: “Bacon, sausage and other processed meats are now ranked alongside cigarettes and asbestos as known carcinogens, the World Health Organization announced today. Processed meats cause cancer, and red meat likely causes cancer, the health agency says in a new report.
The new investigation involved 22 scientists who were invited by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer to assess the association between more than 16 types of cancer and the consumption of red meat and processed meat…
the scientific panel examined more than 800 epidemiological studies from the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia and elsewhere. The scope covered multiple ethnicities and global diets, according to the report which was published today in the journal Lancet Oncology.
The WHO group “classified consumption of processed meat as ‘carcinogenic to humans’ on the basis of sufficient evidence for colorectal cancer.” Colorectal cancer is the second most lethal form of cancer in the U.S., causing nearly 50,000 deaths per year. Processed meat was also linked to a higher incidence of stomach cancer.
Red meat carries a slightly lower risk, the group says, but is still “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Aside from the “strong mechanistic evidence” related to colorectal cancer, the “consumption of red meat was also positively associated with pancreatic and with prostate cancer.
As a main line of evidence, the group cites one study from 2011, which combed through 28 studies on meat consumption and cancer risk dating back to 1966. That meta analysis found that colorectal cancer risk jumps by 17 percent for every 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of red meat consumed each day. Meanwhile with processed meat, colorectal cancer risk increases by 18 percent for every 50 grams (1.7 ounces) eaten each day.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer keeps a list of compounds or activities with suspected, probable and definitive links to cancer, with each possible item falling into a designated grouping based on whether or not it causes cancer.
Processed meat now falls into “group 1,” meaning it ranks as high as tobacco smoking, the most dangerous variants of human papillomavirus (HPV) and asbestos exposure in terms of causing cancer. Red meat lands in “group 2A” with inorganic lead…”
From article at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/red-meat-bacon-hot-dogs-processed-meats-cause-cancer-dangerous-smoking/
The above PBS article refers to this report in The Lancet Oncology titled “Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat” at http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(15)00444-1/fulltext
~ ~ ~
The Times newspaper (UK) 2015: “Sausages ‘are a major cancer risk’…
Excerpts: “Eating bacon, burgers and sausages is as big a cancer risk as smoking cigarettes, global health chiefs are to rule, it was reported last night. The World Health Organisation is to list processed meat as among the most cancer-causing substances, putting it on a par with asbestos and arsenic, according to reports. Red meat is due to be ranked as only slightly less dangerous than the processed products in the “encyclopaedia of carcinogens”…”
From article at: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/news/article4594143.ece
~ ~ ~
Adelaide Now newspaper (Australia) 2015: “Bad cancer news for bacon lovers…”
Excerpt: “The World Health Organisation is poised to declare that bacon, sausages and other processed meat cause cancer. Processed meat is also expected to be included in the same category as cigarettes, alcohol and asbestos, the Independent reported. Red meat is also expected to be included in a list of food stuffs that are “probably carcinogenic to humans”…”
From article at: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/world/brekkie-wrap-bad-cancer-news-for-bacon-lovers/story-fni6um3i-1227580682232
~ ~ ~
Telegraph newspaper (UK) 2013: “Processed meat blamed for one in 30 early deaths”
Excerpts: “The scientists, who followed the health of almost 450,000 people aged 35 to 69, found the more processed meat people ate, the more likely they were to die early from any cause.
This was true even after attempting to account for the fact that those who eat more meat tend to be less active, drink more and smoke.
High processed meat consumption led to a 72 per cent increased risk of dying from heart disease, and an 11 per cent increased risk of dying from cancer…
Diets laden with pies, sausages, and ready meals have been linked to deaths from cancer and heart disease…”
From article at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9914283/Processed-meat-blamed-for-one-in-30-early-deaths.html
~ ~ ~
Telegraph newspaper (UK) 2015: “Bacon, ham and sausages ‘as big a cancer threat as smoking’, WHO to warn.” Excerpt:” The WHO is expected to publish a report listing processed meat as a cancer-causing substance with the highest of five possible rankings…” From article at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11950018/Bacon-ham-and-sausages-as-big-a-cancer-threat-as-smoking-WHO-to-warn.html
~ ~ ~
Telegraph newspaper (UK) 2014: “Gene increases cancer risk posed by processed meat.”
Excerpt: “A third of the population should eat less processed meat scientists have warned after finding they carry a gene that puts them at greater risk of bowel cancer… Compared with those eating little or no processed meat, the heaviest consumers were more than twice at risk of the disease if they had the worst version of the gene variant.
Eating meat – especially processed meat in pies, bacon, sausages and cold cuts – was already known to raise bowel cancer risk, but the gene mutations increase it even more…”
From article at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/10773805/Gene-increases-cancer-risk-posed-by-processed-meat.html
~ ~ ~
Sydney Morning Herald newspaper (Australia) 2015: “Processed meats cause cancer and red meat probably does too: World Health Organisation.” Excerpt: “In reaching its conclusion, the panel cited studies suggesting that eating an additional 100 grams of red meat per day raises the risk of colorectal cancer by 17 per cent; eating an extra 50 grams of processed meat daily raises the risk by 18 per cent, according to the research cited. It quoted figures suggesting that 34,000 cancer deaths a year worldwide were attributable to diets high in processed meats…” From article at: http://www.smh.com.au/world/processed-meats-cause-cancer-and-red-meat-probably-does-too-world-health-organisation-20151026-gkj2pf.html
= = =
Reports on the Increasing Rates of Cancer in Young People – Cancers of the Bowel, Rectum, Colon, Stomach:
Australia: “emerging research shows bowel cancer in young people is on the rise. Recent published Australian research found that rates of bowel cancer in Australians aged 20-39 years increased between 1990 and 2010 – in those aged 30-39 there had been a 35 per cent increase… “Your risk of bowel cancer increases if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, rely on processed or packaged foods or have diabetes or obesity, so it’s not surprising that we are now starting to see the full impact of diet and lifestyle in the younger generation,” said Professor Newstead…”
Reference: Bowel Cancer Australia, 28 May 2015; https://www.bowelcanceraustralia.org/latest-news/bowel-cancer-caught-too-late-among-young-aussies-bowel-cancer-australia
~ ~ ~
From a 2019 news report: “Bowel cancer (or colorectal cancer) is increasingly being diagnosed in young Australians … The rate of colon cancers in younger people has risen by up to 9.3 per cent a year since the mid-2000s and rectal cancer has increased by up to 7.1 per cent a year since the early 1990s, a Cancer Council NSW led study found … Australians under 50 accounted for almost 8 per cent of 375,008 bowel cancers diagnosed in Australia between 1982 and 2014 (7 per cent of colon cancers and 9 per cent of rectal cancers), according to the study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention this month.
Over the same period, the rates of certain lifestyle risk factors (obesity, high alcohol consumption and eating red meat) also increased in under 50s in parallel to bowel cancer rates, suggesting they could be linked, lead author Eleonora Feletto, Research Fellow at Cancer Council NSW, said.
Earlier research suggested almost half of all bowel cancers were preventable.
“Eating less red and processed meat, limiting alcohol intake, cutting tobacco and increasing physical activity are all lifestyle changes an individual can make to reduce bowel cancer at any age,” Dr Feletto said.”
Source: https://www.smh.com.au/healthcare/this-cancer-is-on-the-rise-in-young-people-but-screening-starts-at-50-20190121-p50sot.html
~ ~ ~
“Age no barrier as bowel cancer rises in young people… Analysis of data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows bowel cancer in men under 25 increased by more than 160 per cent in the five years to 1996 and the same period a decade later. In women of the same age, the increase was more than 75 per cent…” Reference: Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, June 1, 2011 –
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/age-no-barrier-as-bowel-cancer-rises-in-young-people-20110531-1fesr.html
~ ~ ~
UK: “Rates of bowel cancer in young people expected to soar up to 90% in the next 15 years – with junk food and inactivity to blame… Previous research found that snacking on chocolate, biscuits and cakes could increase the risk of the disease – as could drinking fizzy drinks… It’s already known that red or processed meat, for example bacon and sausages, is linked with bowel cancer…”
Reference: Daily Telegraph, 7 November 2014 –
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2825134/Rates-bowel-cancer-young-people-expected-soar-90-2030-junk-food-inactivity-blame.html#ixzz3ohBFOXXB
~ ~ ~
USA: “Colon Cancer Cases Rising Among Young Adults… Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center looked at data from more than 393,000 people diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer between 1975 through 2010… Based on current trends, they predict that by 2030 the incidence rates among people ages 20–34 years will increase by 90% for colon cancer and by 124.2% for rectal cancer. Among people ages 35–49 years, they predict the incidence rates will increase by 27.7% for colon cancer and by 46% for rectal cancer…” Reference: American Cancer Society, March 16, 2015 – http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/news/colon-cancer-cases-rising-among-young-adults
~ ~ ~
“Cancer in 15- to 29-Year-Olds … The incidence of cancer in this age group increased steadily during the past quarter century… there has been a lack of progress in survival improvement among older adolescents and young adults relative to all other ages… Survival improvement trends portend a worse prognosis for young adults diagnosed with cancer today than 25 years ago.” Reference: Archie Bleyer, M.D et al, The Oncologist Journal, June 2006 vol. 11 no. 6, 590-601 – http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/11/6/590.full
~ ~ ~
“Stomach cancer increasing among white young adults…” Reference: Time magazine, May 5 2010 at http://healthland.time.com/2010/05/05/stomach-cancer-increasing-among-white-young-adults/
~ ~ ~
“Rates of colon and rectal cancers are increasing in young adults… in the United States… and they have more advanced disease… 1973-1999… For the young, colon cancer incidence increased 17 per cent… rectal incidence rose 75 per cent…” Reference: O’Connell JB, et al, American Surgery, 2003 Oct;69(10):866-72; at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14570365
~ ~ ~
“Rectal cancer rate increasing in young adults… ” Reference: ABC News MedPage Today, Aug 23 2010 at http://abcnews.go.com/Health/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/rectal-cancer-rates-rising-young-adults/story?id=11463628
~ ~ ~
“Colorectal cancer rates are rising in younger people… Incidence of the cancer has gone up 17% over a decade for people under 50.” Reference: Los Angeles Times, June 22, 2009 at http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/22/health/he-closer22
~ ~ ~
From a 2017 article in The Daily Mail (UK): “Cancer rates have reached a record high with more than 800 new cases a day as a result of an ageing population and obesity… Almost 300,000 diagnoses were made in 2015, which is a 22% rise from 2005… Breast cancer is the most common form of the disease, making up 15.4% of cases.
Prostate, lung and bowel are the next most common types of cancer in the UK…” From article at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4537670/Cancer-rates-reached-record-high.html
~ ~ ~
A 2017 report in the New Zealand Herald is titled “Bowel cancer rates have risen significantly in people under the age of 50 study shows…” article at
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11852994
It is based on this article in the British Journal of Surgery at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bjs.10518/abstract;jsessionid=51B9E189758FE14A8E035942DB51C123.f02t02
~ ~ ~
From the “CureSearch” website: “the incidence of childhood cancer been steadily increasing over the last few decades, from about 13 children per 100,000 in 1975 to over 17 children per 100,000 since 2005.”[1] “In children, cancer is the number one cause of death by disease. In fact, it is responsible for more deaths than all other diseases combined.” [2] References [1] https://curesearch.org/Incidence-Rates-Over-Time [2] https://curesearch.org/Childhood-Cancer-Deaths-Per-Year
= = =
Meat Consumption & Higher Rates of Type-2 Diabetes:
A 2014 article in the journal named Nutrients is titled “Meat Consumption as a Risk Factor for Type 2 Diabetes”. It states: “In this article, we evaluate the evidence supporting the use of meat consumption as a clinically useful risk factor for type 2 diabetes, based on studies evaluating the risks associated with meat consumption as a categorical dietary characteristic…
The Adventist Mortality Study included a baseline survey of 24,673 white Seventh-day Adventists living in California in 1960, revealing 40% and 80% higher prevalences of diabetes among meat-consuming women and men, respectively, compared with vegetarians… Diabetes prevalence increased as the frequency of meat consumption increased… Compared with those who avoided meat, the relative risk of having diabetes on a death certificate, adjusted for age, was 2.2 for meat-consuming men and 1.4 for meat-consuming women…
In a 17-year follow-up of 8401 individuals… who were free of diabetes at baseline, those who reported eating meat (defined as red meat, poultry, and fish) at least weekly at the study’s endpoint were 29% more likely to have developed diabetes, compared to those who reported no meat consumption at that time point…
The Adventist Health Study-2 included 60,903 Adventists… the odds ratio of a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes among meat consumers remained approximately twice that of individuals avoiding meat. Those who consumed meat less than once per week or who limited their meat consumption to fish also remained at elevated risk, albeit not so high as for those consuming all types of meat on a daily basis.
A 2-year follow-up period included 41,387 men and women. Compared with those eating meat more than once per week… risk of developing diabetes was significantly lower in vegans, lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and those consuming red meat or poultry less than once per week…
A 2011 meta-analysis… including 442,101 participants and 28,228 diabetes cases, showed that consumption of both unprocessed and processed red meat… was significantly associated with risk of type 2 diabetes…
In population studies that include a sufficient number people who avoid all meats such that comparisons can be made between these people and those who eat red meat, fish, etc., those who avoid all meats have the lowest risks of diabetes…
In the Nurses’ Health Study I, two major dietary patterns were identified among the 69,554 participants: a “Western” dietary pattern, defined by higher intakes of red and processed meats, sweets, and desserts, french fries, and refined grains, and a “prudent” dietary pattern, characterized by higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, poultry, and whole grains. After adjustment for age, family history of diabetes, calories, physical activity, body mass index, and other factors, those in the highest quintile of the Western pattern had a 49% increased risk of developing diabetes during 14 years of follow-up, compared with those in the lowest quintile.
After adjustment for the Western dietary score, the associations between meat intake and diabetes risk remained significant; the relative risk for each added daily meat serving was 1.26 for red meat and 1.38 for processed meat, suggesting, in the study authors’ words, “that these foods are associated with diabetes risk independently of the overall Western pattern”.
In the Nurses’ Health Study II, including 91,246 women followed for eight years, consumption of processed meat five or more times per week was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes… For red meat consumption 5 or more times per week, compared with <1 time per week… the relative risk of type 2 diabetes was 1.59… These studies indicate that, while a Western dietary pattern is associated with diabetes risk, meat consumption increases diabetes risk independently of dietary pattern.
A separate analysis examined fish consumption among 195,204 adults… Those who consumed 5 or more fish servings per week had a 22% increased risk for developing diabetes during the 14- to 18-year follow-up period, compared with those who consumed fish less than once per month…
An additional and methodologically distinct study examined diets of participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study and the Multiethnic Cohort Study, finding that consumption of fish and meat was higher in individuals with diabetes, compared with those without diabetes…
Conclusions: Meat consumption is consistently associated with diabetes risk. Dietary habits are readily modifiable, but individuals and clinicians will consider dietary changes only if they are aware of the potential benefits of doing so…”
Reference: “Meat Consumption as a Risk Factor for Type 2 Diabetes”,
Nutrients, 2014, 6(2), 897-910; at http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/2/897/htm
~ ~ ~
Click this link for a page with many more reports on the association of meat consumption with higher rates & risks of Type 2 Diabetes and the lowered/decreased risks from plant-based (vegan, vegetarian) diets.
See this other page for scientific studies regards the higher rates of diabetes associated with eating eggs.
= = =
Regards Meat Consumption and Endometriosis:
A 2018 ABC news report states: “Eating red meat twice a day can increase your chances of endometriosis by more than 50 per cent, new research out of the United States has found.
Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre tracked nearly 82,000 women between 1991 and 2013 …
If you eat two or more servings of red meat a day, you’re 56 per cent more likely to experience symptoms of endometriosis than women who eat one serving or less a week … The reason? Red meat may change your hormones, the report said …”
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/eating-red-meat-increases-your-risk-of-endometriosis/9899196
From the conclusion of the 2018 report in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology: “Our prospective analysis among premenopausal US nurses suggests that red meat consumption may be an important modifiable risk factor for endometriosis, particularly among women with endometriosis who had not reported infertility and thus were more likely to present with pain symptoms.”
Specific results include: “Women consuming >2 servings/d of red meat had a 56% higher risk of endometriosis … compared to those consuming ≤1 serving/wk. This association was strongest for nonprocessed red meats … particularly among women who had not reported infertility … Women in the highest category of processed red meat intake also had a higher risk of endometriosis …”
The study was on 81,908 participants.
Reference: “A prospective cohort study of meat and fish consumption and endometriosis risk”, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2018 Aug;219(2):178.e1-178.e10; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29870739
Regards Meat Consumption & Kidney Disease:
Regards End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) – the last stage of chronic kidney disease – a 2017 report concluded: “Our study shows that red meat intake may increase the risk of ESRD in the general population and substituting alternative sources of protein may reduce the incidence of ESRD.”
Specifically that “Red meat intake [is] strongly associated with ESRD risk in a dose-dependent manner (hazard ratio for highest quartile versus lowest quartile, 1.40…”; meaning a 40% higher rate of ESRD among those who eat the most red meat.
Reference: “Red Meat Intake and Risk of ESRD”, J Am Soc Nephrol. 2017 Jan;28(1):304-312; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27416946
~ ~ ~
Regards to kidney renal disease, JAMA Internal Medicine reports: “In men and women combined, vegetarians had a significantly reduced risk of renal mortality (HR, 0.48 …)”; inferring a 52% lower rate of death from renal disease compared to omnivores.
Reference: “Vegetarian dietary patterns and mortality in Adventist Health Study 2”,
JAMA Internal Medicine, 2013;
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1710093
~ ~ ~
Regards chronic kidney disease (CKD) the conclusion of a 2019 report on 4881 people: “Higher consumption of total red meat and processed meat was associated with increased risk of incident CKD.” The odds ratio (OR) was double.
From the results: “OR for participants in the highest compared with that in the lowest quartile of processed red meat was 1.99 … In the substitution analyses, replacing 1 serving of total red meat and processed meat with 1 serving of low-fat dairy, nuts, whole grains, and legumes was associated with a lower risk of incident CKD.”
Reference: “A Prospective Study of Dietary Meat Intake and Risk of Incident Chronic Kidney Disease”, Journal of Renal Nutrition, August 2019; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1051227619302651
~ ~ ~
Regards Kidney Stones & Meat Consumption:
Short report by Dr Michael Greger MD “How to Prevent Kidney Stones with Diet.” Summary: “Interventional studies support the population data that animal protein consumption appears to markedly increase the risk of kidney stones” – video clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liCXaoh6LPA
The text transcript is at https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-prevent-kidney-stones-with-diet/
~ ~ ~
A Dr Michael Greger MD report “How to Treat Kidney Stones with Diet.” Summary: “Decreasing animal protein and sodium intake appears more effective in treating calcium oxalate and uric acid kidney stones (nephrolithiasis) than restricting calcium or oxalates…” – video clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysBE6GMutpI
Text transcript is at https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-treat-kidney-stones-with-diet/
~ ~ ~
Meat Consumption Associated with Weight Gain, Unhealthy Body Mass Index (BMI) & Higher Risk of Obesity:
Regards meat consumption and weight gain, a study of over 370,000 people reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: “In conclusion, our results indicate that meat intake is positively associated with weight gain … The association persisted after adjustment for total energy intake and underlying dietary patterns. Our results are therefore in favor of the public health recommendation to decrease meat consumption for health improvement.”
From the discussion: “The strongest association was shown for poultry …”
From the Abstract’s conclusion: “Our results suggest that a decrease in meat consumption may improve weight management.”
Reference: “Meat consumption and prospective weight change in participants of the EPIC-PANACEA study”, Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Aug;92(2):398-407; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20592131 and https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/92/2/398/4597346
Click this following link for a further collection of studies on chicken poultry consumption, weight gain and obesity.
~ ~ ~
International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders: “Fish-eaters, vegetarians and especially vegans had lower BMI than meat-eaters. Differences in macronutrient intakes accounted for about half the difference in mean BMI between vegans and meat-eaters. High protein and low fibre intakes were the factors most strongly associated with increasing BMI.”
Reference: “Diet and body mass index in 38000 EPIC-Oxford meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans”, Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord., 2003 Jun;27(6):728-34; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12833118
~ ~ ~
Regards meat consumption and weight gain a large study reported in 2010 concluded: “Our results suggest that a decrease in meat consumption may improve weight management.”
They state: “Total meat consumption was positively associated with [meaning increased] weight gain in men and women, in normal-weight and overweight subjects, and in smokers and nonsmokers.
With adjustment for estimated energy intake*, an increase in meat intake of 250 g/d (eg, one steak at approximately 450 kcal) would lead to a 2-kg higher weight gain after 5 y… Positive associations were observed for red meat, poultry, and processed meat.”
* In other words eating meat results in more weight gained, a higher risk of being overweight, as compared to eating the same amount of calories from plant foods like fruits & vegetables.
It was a study of “103,455 men and 270,348 women aged 25-70 y… in 10 European countries.”
Reference: “Meat consumption and prospective weight change in participants of the EPIC-PANACEA study”, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010 Aug;92(2):398-407; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20592131
Dr Greger clip: “Meat & Weight Gain in the PANACEA Study – In one of the largest nutrition studies ever, total meat consumption was significantly associated with weight gain in men and women—and the link remained even after controlling for calories.”
Excerpts: “meaning if you have two people eating the same amount of calories, the person eating more meat may gain more weight. In fact, they even calculated how much more.
An intake of 250 grams of meat a day—like a steak—would lead to an annual weight gain 422 grams higher than the weight gain experienced with the same calorie diet with lower meat intake. After five years, the weight gain would be about five pounds more. Same calories; yet five pounds more, eating meat…
“The strongest relation with annual weight change [weight gain] was observed for poultry.”
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB3KfUPcieE
Text: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/meat-and-weight-gain-in-the-panacea-study/
~ ~ ~
= = =
Regards Contamination of Meat Products with Carcinogenic Chemical Pollutants:
Journal of Geriatric Cardiology: “Meat (including processed, red, and white assortments), fish, dairy, and eggs contain health-damaging saturated fats, heme iron, N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), carnitine, and chemical contaminants formed when flesh is cooked, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic amines, and advanced glycation end products.
Highly processed foods encompass a class of commercially produced items made with adulterants including oils, salts, sugars, and other food additives.
These aforementioned constituents in animal products and processed foods contribute to inflammation, oxidation, and carcinogenesis, promoting disease and, therefore, are better omitted from the diet.”
Reference: “Plant-based nutrition for healthcare professionals: implementing diet as a primary modality in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease”, J Geriatr Cardiol. 2017 May; 14(5): 355–368; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466942/
~ ~ ~
A 2011 report in Prevention magazine is titled “The Dirty Dozen – Contaminated Foods.” Some excerpts: “FDA and USDA research shows high levels of pesticide and chemicals in these commonly contaminated foods… The chemical pesticides detected in these studies are known to cause cancer, birth defects, nervous system and brain damage, and developmental problems in children…
1. Beef, Pork and Poultry. The EPA reports that meat is contaminated with higher levels of pesticides than any plant food. Many chemical pesticides are fat-soluble and accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals. Animal feed that contains animal products compounds the accumulation, which is directly passed to the human consumer.
Antibiotics, drugs, and hormones are a standard in animal husbandry, all of which accumulate and are passed on to consumers as well. Ocean fish carry a higher risk for heavy metals than pesticides, though many freshwater fish are exposed to high levels of pesticides from contaminated water.
2. Milk, Cheese and Butter. For reasons similar to those for meat, the fat in dairy products poses a high risk for contamination by pesticides. Animals concentrate pesticides and chemicals in their milk and meat. Growth hormones and antibiotics are also serious concerns and are invariably found in commercial milk, cheese, and butter…”
Reference: http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/12-commonly-contaminated-foods
~ ~ ~
Dr Greger clip: “Industrial Carcinogens in Animal Fat.”
Summary: “The buildup of industrial toxins in the meat and dairy supply may, in part, account for the relationship between animal fat consumption and disease.”
Excerpt: “The Harvard Nurses Study. Eat lots of dairy, and double our risk of a heart attack. Or, feed our kids lots of dairy, and triple their risk of colorectal cancer 65 years later. More dairy, more prostate cancer. More testicular cancer. More Parkinson’s disease—all, again, published within about a 12-month period. And this is no fluke. Every single forward-looking study in history on Parkinson’s and dairy found that the more dairy products people consume, the higher their risk of getting Parkinson’s…”
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16r_Bk2rG9o
Text: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/industrial-carcinogens-in-animal-fat-2/
~ ~ ~
A 2017 report is titled “Consumption of organic meat does not diminish the carcinogenic potential…”
It concludes: “the consumption of organically produced meat does not diminish this carcinogenic risk, but on the contrary, it seems to be even higher, especially that associated with lamb consumption.”
Further notes from the summary: “Numerous studies have shown an epidemiological link between meat consumption and the incidence of cancer, and it has been suggested that this relationship may be motivated by the presence of carcinogenic contaminants on it. Among the most frequently detected contaminants in meat are several types of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and it is well known that many of them are carcinogenic. On the other hand, an increasing number of consumers choose to feed on what are perceived as healthier foods. Thus, the number of consumers of organic food is growing. However, environmental contamination by POPs is ubiquitous, and it is therefore unlikely that the practices of organic food production are able to prevent this contamination. To test this hypothesis, we acquired 76 samples of meat (beef, chicken, and lamb) of two modes of production (organic and conventional) and quantified their levels of 33 carcinogenic POPs…
As expected, no sample was completely free of carcinogenic contaminants, and the differences between organically and conventionally produced meats were minimal. According to these results, the current pattern of meat consumption exceeded the maximum limits, which are set according to the levels of contaminations, and this is associated with a relevant carcinogenic risk.”
Reference: “Consumption of organic meat does not diminish the carcinogenic potential associated with the intake of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)”, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2017 Feb;24(5):4261-4273; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25893622
Click on image to open a larger easier-to-read version.
~ ~ ~
Dr Nathan Donley: “Does Meat Contain Pesticides? … Cows, pigs, chickens and sheep can all be directly dosed with pesticides to prevent pest infestation in the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions that exist on factory farms. But perhaps more important is the extent to which animals are exposed to crop pesticides through their food.
Pesticide residues are found in meat and animal byproducts, including, disturbingly, long-banned pesticides like DDT. These pesticides mostly come from the food that animals eat and end up getting stored in their fat, accumulating over time …
The Environmental Working Group estimates that a whopping 167 million pounds of pesticides are used each year just to grow food for animals in the United States. For glyphosate, the most commonly used pesticide in the world, residues allowed in animal feed can be more than 100 times that allowed on grains consumed directly by humans, and the amount of glyphosate allowed in red meat is more than 20 times that for most plant crops …
For these and many more reasons, reducing your meat consumption is a great way to support more sustainable agricultural practices.”
Source: https://medium.com/center-for-biological-diversity/does-meat-contain-pesticides-c587f6b252e7
~ ~ ~
Regards contamination with pesticides: “Our study shows that U.S. food is contaminated with a wide range of chemicals, including pesticides, PFCs, and PCBs, and that expanding the current monitoring beyond pesticides to include emerging pollutants is warranted …”
Regards PCBs: “most PCB intake in the present study was due to meat consumption …
We detected six of seven tested non-dioxin-like PCB congeners in salmon and canned sardines, with PCB-153 and PCB-138 at highest levels (salmon: PCB-153, 1.2 ng/g ww; PCB-138, 0.93 ng/g ww; canned sardines: PCB-153 and PCB-138, 1.8 ng/g ww each). We measured PCB-153 and PCB-180 in hamburger meat at 1.2 and 0.21 ng/g ww, respectively …”
Regards Organochlorine pesticides: “We found the DDT metabolite p,p′-DDE most frequently, in 23 of 31 different foods, from 0.041 in whole milk yogurt to 9.0 ng/g ww in fresh catfish fillets. We found high levels in other foods with high fat content: cream cheese (5.7 ng/g ww), butter (5.1 ng/g), American cheese (4.8 ng/g ww), salmon (3.5 ng/g ww), and canned sardines (2.8 ng/g ww) …
Salmon was the most contaminated food product, with 24 pesticides detected of the 32 pesticides analyzed … For many pesticides detected in salmon, values were relatively high compared with other foods. Compared with meat, dairy, and vegetable products, fish usually was highly contaminated, as was previously reported … Canned sardines were contaminated with 17 of 32, fresh catfish with 16 of 32, and cod with 15 of 32 pesticides tested. Catfish contained relatively high levels of detected pesticides.”
An important point: “in real life it is very rare for an individual to be exposed to only one chemical at a time. Every food within this study contained multiple pesticides.”
Reference: “Perfluorinated Compounds, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, and Organochlorine Pesticide Contamination in Composite Food Samples from Dallas, Texas, USA”; Environ Health Perspect. 2010 Jun; 118(6): 796–802. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898856/
~ ~ ~
A clip by Dr M. Greger MD titled “Is Organic Meat Less Carcinogenic?” at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSHv5vDi3Is
Excerpts: “Studies of the “pollutants in [the] breast milk of vegetarians” dating back over 30 years have found the average vegetarian levels of some pollutants were “only 1 to 2 per cent as high as the [national] average.” … within three months of “the exclusion of meat, poultry, fish and eggs” from their diets, there was a significant drop in the levels of toxic heavy metals in their bodies, including mercury, cadmium, and lead.” Up to about a 30% drop within three months … What if we just stick to organic meat? … Researchers “acquired 76 samples of [different kinds of] meat, both organic and conventional, and “quantified their levels of contamination with 33 different carcinogenic [persistent organic pollutants]” … “the differences between organically and conventionally produced meats were minimal.” Furthermore, “the current pattern of meat consumption exceeded the maximum limits” either way.
“Strikingly, the consumption of organically produced meat [not only] does not appear to diminish this carcinogenic risk,” but was sometimes found to “be even higher.”
Text at https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-organic-meat-less-carcinogenic/
~ ~ ~
“5 Dangerous Substances Big Ag Pumps Into Your Meat” is a 2014 article that describes how – in addition to the pesticides that accumulate in animal tissues from their feed as well as the antibiotics that breed drug-resistant ‘superbugs’ – meat products are also frequently treated with chemicals like chlorine, anhydrous ammonia, carbon monoxide, cetylpyridinium, propylene glycol and sodium tripolyphosphate, among others. See https://www.ecowatch.com/5-dangerous-substances-big-ag-pumps-into-your-meat-1881903038.html
~ ~ ~
Dr Michael Greger: “Today, “[v]irtually the entire U.S. population consumes, without any warning, labeling, or information, unknown and unpredictable amounts of hormonal residues in meat products over a lifetime.” If all hormonal and other carcinogenic feed additives aren’t banned immediately, the least we should have is “explicit labeling requirements of use and of [hormone] residue levels in all meat products, including milk and eggs.”
Source: “What Hormone Disrupters Are in Your Meat Products?”
Video clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvV5fasq-DI
Article at https://www.care2.com/greenliving/what-hormone-disrupters-are-in-your-meat-products.html
~ ~ ~
A 2014 report on “contamination by organochlorine pesticides and polychlorobiphenyl” also referred to as “persistent organic pollutants” (POPs) states: “The current results confirm that dietary intake of foodstuffs of animal origin is a relevant risk factor for the accumulation of POPs… Because POPs can exert deleterious effects on human health, the identification of populations at risk of being highly contaminated is mandatory in order to implement policies that minimize the exposure to these compounds.”
Reference: “Consumption of foods of animal origin as determinant of contamination by organochlorine pesticides and polychlorobiphenyls: results from a population-based study in Spain”, Chemosphere. 2014 Nov;114:121-8; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25113192
~ ~ ~
A 2015 study reports: “Our purpose was to emphasize the relevance of environmental carcinogens existing in meat as a determinant of the association between cancer and meat consumption… We quantified in these samples the concentration of 33 chemicals with calculated carcinogenic potential… Our results indicate that the current consumption of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and “chorizo”, represents a relevant carcinogenic risk for consumers (carcinogenic risk quotient between 1.33 and 13.98). In order to reduce carcinogenic risk, the study population should halve the monthly consumption of these foods, and also not to surpass the number of 5 servings of beef/pork/chicken (considered together).”
Reference: “An estimation of the carcinogenic risk associated with the intake of multiple relevant carcinogens found in meat and charcuterie products”, The Science of the Total Environment, 2015 May 1;514:33-41; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25659303
~ ~ ~
A 2016 report in the Environmental Research journal: “The potential role of a number of environmental chemical contaminants (toxic trace elements, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated naphthalenes and perfluoroalkyl substances) on the carcinogenicity of consumption of meat and meat products is discussed in this paper.”
Reference: “Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat: What about environmental contaminants?” Environmental Research, 2016 Feb;145:109-15; at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26656511
= = =
TO SORT:
Dr Joel Kahn MD: “12 Studies from 2019 That Make the Case for Avoiding Meat” at https://www.forksoverknives.com/12-studies-from-2019-the-case-for-avoiding-meat/
= = =
= = =
This page can also be reached via
www.tinyurl.com/meatdiseases
= = =
This set of articles were compiled for
www.EatingOurFuture.com
Pages on this Site:
Eating Meat & Dairy Increases Climate Change, Pollution & Damage to Our Environment
Quotes from news reports & science journals on how the Western omnivore diet with meat and dairy products accelerates climate-change through: i) increasing our carbon footprint of greenhouse gases; ii) deforesting & destroying wilderness that absorbs carbon and protects biodiversity; iii) creating massive pollution; and iv) wasting resources like grains, water, fuels and agricultural lands.
~ ~ ~
Eating Meat linked to Higher Rates & Risk of Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease & Early Death
Excerpts & links to medical studies, articles & reports on the links between meat consumption and increased incidences of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and early mortality (a shorter lifespan); also to reports on how cancers are increasing in young people.
~ ~ ~
Scientific Studies on Health Advantages of Vegans & Vegetarians
Quotes & links to articles in science, medical & health journals that report great benefits vegetarians and vegans generally have including longer lives with less of the chronic degenerative diseases like cancer, cardiovascular heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and obesity as well as lower blood pressure, hypertension and blood cholesterol levels.
~ ~ ~
Mass Extinction Loss of Biodiversity caused by Humans
Excerpts & links to articles in news media science journals about the current ‘Sixth Mass Extinction’ known also as the ‘Holocene Extinction’ or ‘Anthropocene Extinction’ as it is largely caused by human activities.
~ ~ ~
Dairy Milk Health Problems – Issues & Risks for Related Disease & Illness
This page contains quotes & links for studies & articles in science journals, news media & by medical doctors; on the association of drinking milk to higher rates of osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.
~ ~ ~
Risk of Infectious Disease Epidemics from Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria due to Animal Agriculture
This page features quotes & links to articles in news media and science journals about the rise of microbes that are resistant to antibiotics; posing a grave threat to all of us; from 50% to 80% of antibiotics are (mis-)used in animal agriculture industries.
~ ~ ~
How the Meat & Dairy Industry Influences Politics, Government, Education, News & Media
This page features quotes & links to reports that expose how the animal agriculture industries (meat, dairy, poultry) influence government, politics, the education schooling system and news media in order to promote their interests.
~ ~ ~
Eating Seafood & Overfishing is Destroying Oceans, Rivers & Wildlife
Excerpts from articles about the marine ecosystem collapse that is happening now in oceans, seas & rivers due to over-fishing and the toxic pollution in waterways from land-based animal agriculture meat-farming; worsening climate change; threatening the entire food chain.
~ ~ ~
Studies Find Eating Fish Seafood Not So Healthy With Raised Risks of Disease
Articles from science journals & news reports that dispute the health claims made regards eating fish; some even find higher rates of heart disease and cancer among seafood consumers.
~ ~ ~
Are Soy Foods Healthy or Not? Doctors & Nutrition Experts Refute Some Myths
A collection of quotes & links for articles by doctors, dietitians & nutrition experts who refute & rebut the negative claims made regards “the soy food debate”
~ ~ ~
For Archives of Related Memes see:
~ ~ ~
How We Are Eating Our Future
This site’s original 2012 page with excerpts from articles in science journals and news media about how what we choose to eat can: i) accelerate or slow down climate change and the related environmental catastrophes we face; and ii) increase or reduce our risks for chronic illness and disease. The evidence and body of opinion against the animal agriculture livestock industry is particularly compelling and damning.
= = = =
www.EatingOurFuture.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.