The public is largely unaware of the connection between processed meats and the very real cancer risk. The American Institute of Cancer Research wholeheartedly agrees with the World Health Organization’s report that processed meats (hot dogs, bacon, sausage, pepperoni, ham, jerky, deli meats, and anything smoked, cured, or canned) are ranked in the highest cancer-causing category, along with asbestos, arsenic and tobacco.
Processed meats are KNOWN carcinogens (not just linked to cancer, but initiators of cancer). One daily hot dog, 2 slices of bacon, or one smoked sausage increases the risk for colon cancer by 18%. All other meats, such as beef, chicken and pork, are ranked in the “probably causes cancer” category.
Processed meats also raise the risk of stomach, prostate and pancreatic cancer. Yet we continue to promote eating a food that’s a bigger contributor to cancer than smoking.
Let's talk about bacon. Americans on average eat more than 18 pounds of bacon each year. Over 80% of Americans households surveyed report that bacon is a part of their diets. According to Wikipedia, the term “Bacon mania” refers to “passionate bacon enthusiasm in the United States and Canada. Novelty bacon dishes and other bacon related items have been popularized rapidly via the internet. The movement has been traced to the 1980s and 1990s when high-protein foods became a more prominent diet focus due in part to the Atkins diet."
Bacon commercials are partly responsible for the fact that bacon is the highest ‘topping’ requested for fast food burgers. One popular pizza chain has devised a bacon wrapped crust that contains 3.5 feet of bacon, and bacon has become the main attraction of many other types of fast food offerings. In addition to burgers and pizzas, bacon can now be found cooked or baked into just about anything, including donuts, muffins, cupcakes, butter, peanut butter sandwiches, chocolate bars, mayonnaise, booze, ice cream and milkshakes (yes, you heard that correctly). There’s even a bacon bowl (a container made of hot bacon in which you can put your cereal, soup, rice or pasta).
Bacon can be addictive because it contains several ingredients that humans typically crave: Fat, salt, and sugar. Bacon itself is two-thirds fat and loaded with salt, and when combined with a sweetener such as maple syrup, can create a party in one’s brain. In “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” (Random House, 2013), author Michael Moss explored this issue in-depth, citing examples of how food manufacturers exploit this craving when developing processed foods such as bacon-flavored products.
Of course there are consequences to pigging out on bacon. Not only is bacon is high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium, processed meats such as bacon contain carcinogenic compounds called nitrates and nitrites. Bacon can increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and various types of cancer.
No amount of processed meat is considered safe for consumption. Every year, about 145,000 Americans are diagnosed with Colorectal cancer and approximately 51,000 die of it. Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths, according to Fight Colorectal Cancer.com.
Many additional studies also show a strong link between other cancers and processed meats. An NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study found that processed red meat was associated with a 10 percent increased risk of prostate cancer with every 10 grams of increased intake. A study in Taiwan showed that consumption of cured and smoked meat can increase children’s risk for leukemia. A study in Australia found that women’s risk for ovarian cancer increased as a result of eating processed meats. And a review in the journal Diabetologia found that those who regularly eat processed meats increase their risk for diabetes by 41 percent. This is due to the high fat content, which coats the cells and no longer allows insulin to work effectively.
Bottom line: Processed meats, including bacon, are risky business. Sadly there is even a bacon-themed coffin available on the market – advertised “for people who love their bacon to death." Don’t be one of them.
I continually strive to raise awareness of the connection between diet and disease by awakening people to the health risks of the Standard American Diet (SAD). The Colorectal cancer rates have doubled in recent years in younger adults, and I urge local organizations who sell processed meats, host social events or promote contests to take these matters seriously.
Diet is the biggest determinant of our health (greater than genetics or environmental exposures). A whole food, plant-based diet is your best defense in the prevention and reversal of our ever-growing disease rates.