YOUR DIET AND CANCER: A LOOK AT PROCESSED MEATS

Varieties of processed meats 

Are processed meats healthy? No, they are not. Processed meats like hamburger, sausage, hot dog, bacon and beef rolls, should be avoided for a good number of reasons. 

Commercially produced meats make use of animals that have not been naturally raised. These animals are kept in deplorable conditions and confined spaces; and given growth hormones and antibiotics. These hormones and antibiotics are not destroyed with cooking, but are consumed along with the meat. 

Also, processed meats are preserved using sodium nitrites,  artificial flavors and food dyes.  Preservatives are used to enhance the colour, appearance and flavour of foods. These artificial flavourings are loaded with chemicals and have been linked to higher risks of cancer such as colorectal, stomach and pancreatic cancer. 

Cooking these processed meats at high temperatures only makes them more unhealthy, producing more cancer-causing compounds. When proteins such as meat are cooked at high temperatures with little or no moisture, these include smoking, grilling, roasting and frying, it forms several dangerous toxic compounds such as Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) . These chemical compounds are clearly associated with increased risk of stomach, colon, lung, liver, esophagus, prostrate and breast cancer. They can also lead to oxidative stress and an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes,  kidney disease and a host of other chronic diseases. 

A recent study found that men who consumed just 1.5 servings or more of processed meats in a week increased their risk of advanced prostrate cancer by 50%. Just imagine how that risk would skyrocket in an individual who ate processed meat or fried red meat every other day or every day. It's no wonder,  prostrate cancer is one of the top three cancers in men.