Toxic Bacon

| 29 May 2017
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A new study reveals that even small amounts of processed meat increase the risk of breast cancer

The large UK-based study that analysed dietary and health data from over 260,000 women found that post-menopausal women who eat just 9g of processed meat per week (bacon, sausages, burgers, meat pies, sausage rolls etc.) have 20 per cent higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who don’t eat any processed meat. That means even an infrequent consumption of processed meat, such as three bacon rashers or two sausages a week, can considerably increase your risk.

Professor Naveed Sattar, the study co-author, from the University of Glasgow, told The Times: ‘In addition to the previously known effects of processed meat on other kinds of cancer, this adds further evidence that it may have a deleterious effect on breast cancer, particularly in post-menopausal women.”

Anderson JJ et al., 2017. Red and processed meat consumption and breast cancer: UK Biobank cohort study and meta-analysis. European Journal of Cancer. 90: 73–82.

About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
I joined Viva! as a health campaigner in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. My scientific training helped me research and write numerous reports, guides and fact sheets for Viva! including Meat the Truth, Fish-Free for Life, One in Nine (breast cancer and diet) and the substantial report on the detrimental health effects of consuming dairy; White Lies. This accompanied Viva!’s report The Dark Side of Dairy which spelt out the inherent cruelty of dairy farming. We were the first UK group to take on the dairy industry in this way, and many of our supporters go vegan after reading these reports.

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