topic Re: Bacon Bad??? in Wellness

Bacon Bad???

bargainsgirl — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 02:12:13 GMT

So I just read that bacon and any processed meats (sausage...) are being blamed for increasing your chances of getting breast cancer. For those of you who have had breast cancer, are you giving these foods up now? Along with an occasional drink? Seems like all the good things are bad for you!!!

Re: Bacon Bad???

Love my grandkids — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 02:41:48 GMT

I don't drink and I LOVE bacon and other things and don't plan on giving them up. Course I only eat them in moderation...usually!!!

Re: Bacon Bad???

sidsmom — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 03:14:37 GMT

World Health Organization (WHO) released this information

back in 2015...it’s nothing new. Processed meats are

a Group 1 Carcinogen, like smoking & alcohol.

Re: Bacon Bad???

lovesrecess — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 03:09:20 GMT

what is good and bad to eat seems to change every week.... bacon seems to be the mainstay of most keto diets now....and salad seems to be bad due to the risk of E. coli. What to do!

Re: Bacon Bad???

RedTop — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 03:26:46 GMT

Only one relative in my dad’s family had breast cancer; she was in her 70’s and died in the 1940’s.

Only one relative in my mom’s family had breast cancer; she was also in her 70’s when she passed in the 1980’s.

I’ve made it to my 60’s; my life story is over half written, so I’m eating bacon.

Re: Bacon Bad???

phoenixbrd — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 05:13:37 GMT

Bacon and processed meat are not considered "good" food. The fact that eating animals is carcinogenic is old news. If you research farm factory practices, it is easy to understand why consuming them increases your chance of toxicity/disease.

I'm grateful that people are becoming aware of the truth and considering healthy alternatives.

Re: Bacon Bad???

phoenixbrd — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 04:58:58 GMT

@sidsmom Thanks for posting the facts.

Re: Bacon Bad???

Sooner — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 04:45:36 GMT

I avoid processed meats most of the time, rarely have bacon. I am not at all afraid of good lean beef and pork. I don't eat it every day, but not something I worry about.

We raised beef and ate it a LOT. Grain and pasture fed, no hormones. Dad lived to 95, mom still going.

Re: Bacon Bad???

Tinkrbl44 — Sat, 06 Oct 2018 00:08:23 GMT

@bargainsgirl

This isn't new .... bacon has been on the "bad" list for many years now. Nitrites are the problem.

If you are honestly surprised by this, you must be very young.

Re: Bacon Bad???

Pook — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 10:03:55 GMT

If we did everything that is supposedly good for us and avoided everything that is supposedly bad for us here is what life would be like. Get up, slather sunscreen over your body every few hours even if not going outdoors - but then you'd have to so you could work on your garden to grow the safe plants so you don't get e coli. Don't eat harmful fatty meats, sugar, etc. Maybe we could get our nourishment from IV's. Don't drink anything but purified water as nothing else is good for you, work harder to clean things without using any chemicals. Don't drive much because of so many distracted drivers and car recalls. Stay away from cell phones, computers - even your tv and microwave as well to avoid harmful rays!! I could go on and on. Then when "research" comes out with retractions and other warnngs change the way you live again!! Not the way I want to live!! I will enjoy my bacon and anything else I find enjoyable.

Re: Bacon Bad???

cherry — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 10:29:51 GMT

My day is filled with no all the time. I watch all carbs carefully, I am not going to stop eating protein ,just because someone got cancer from it..People get cancer for all sorts of things, non smokers get lung cancer etc

Re: Bacon Bad???

cherry — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 10:34:58 GMT

from Forbes

snip

Risk factors

The effects on health depend on dose. The researchers calculated that each 50-gram portion of processed meat, eaten daily, increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. That's a small amount: 50g is roughly two rashers of bacon, or a large hot dog. As IARC's Dr Kurt Straif states in the press release: "For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed." There's no context for the level of risk, only a vague warning.

Risk is notoriously difficult to understand, however, and 18% seems like a big number. Many people will interpret "increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%" to mean a rise from zero to 18%. But that increase isn't absolute risk – it's the relative risk.

To put the figure in perspective: the risk of developing lung cancer is 23.6 times higher among male smokers than non-smokers, so smoking increases the relative risk by 2360%. So if you started with a hypothetical 5% risk of developing bowel cancer, consuming 50g of bacon every day would only raise your risk to almost 6%.

Biological effects

As with any lifestyle choice, there are costs and benefits to eating meat, which leads to tradeoffs. Meat is rich in nutrients like iron, but iron in the blood forms N-nitroso-compounds (NOC). The process of curing produces carcinogenic chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) but also prevents microbes from growing, reducing the chance of food poisoning (few organisms can survive high salt content). High-temperature cooking by grilling or pan-frying creates carcinogens such as heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA) but heat kills pathogens too.

Carcinogens such as NOC, PAH and HAA are 'genotoxic' because they trigger mutations within and around a cell's DNA, which prompts abnormal behaviour. Tissues of the digestive tract are obviously exposed to the chemicals in food on a regular basis, which partly explains why the colon and rectum are so vulnerable to generating out-of-control tumour cells.

Should you avoid processed meats? Given that I'm a trained biologist and my father's a surgeon who specializes in colorectal cancer, you might think I wouldn't recommend eating processed meat. But that would be a knee-jerk reaction to oversimplifying IARC's conclusions. I won't discuss the ethical considerations of being vegetarian here, but will emphasize that most advice – even from public health authorities – isn't based on good science.

Health advice

Diet and nutrition are extremely complicated. Frankly speaking, anyone who claims that a specific diet will work for you personally (and by extension, everyone) is talking out of their rectum. There's a very simple biological reason for that: everyone is different.

Genetics plays a part. For example, the tumour suppressor protein 'APC' normally helps protect against cancer, and mutations to the APC gene are associated with processed meat consumption. And as with most characteristics, there's nature via nurture: individuals vary due to their unique combination of genes, the influence of their environment, and the complex interaction between the two. A journalist might call APC a 'gene for bacon resistance', but it's hard to know precisely how genetic programming manifests as a physiological feature – in this case, your body's ability to protect itself against the harmful effects of meat.

So should you cut-down on processed meat? Yes, especially if you currently eat lots of it. But should you worry about bacon causing cancer? No.

I'm an award-winning journalist with a PhD in evolutionary biology. I spent several years at Focus, the BBC's popular science and technology magazine, running the features section and writing about everything from gay genes and internet memes to the science of death and orig...

JV Chamary is an award-winning science journalist. Follow him on Twitter / Google / Facebook

Re: Bacon Bad???

cherry — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 11:20:44 GMT

from the New York Post

Halloween week kicked off with big scary news from the World Health Organization: Processed meat is now in the same category of carcinogens as cigarettes . . .
. . . and sunshine.

The new WHO study (actually from a subsidiary, the International Agency of Research on Cancer) is a classic example of how the media and other ax-grinders either misinterpret or misuse statistics to sow confusion and panic. This seems to happen especially often when the numbers appear to confirm a pre-existing cognitive bias on the part of the media.

I’ve just run my eating habits through the IARC model and, factoring into their analysis the quantity of bacon and hot dogs I’ve consumed, I calculate that I’ve been dead for 17 years.

The IARC says it is now classifying processed meat as a Class One carcinogen (known to cause cancer) and all red meat as Class Two carcinogens (likely to cause cancer). Wait, don’t place that bulk order of lentils just yet. “Causes cancer” is not the same as “will give you cancer.”

Traveling in automobiles, and for that matter having a television, are known to be deadly. (Approximately 30 Americans a year get crushed to death by TVs, furniture and appliances.)

The question to ask yourself when one of these studies comes out is not whether something ever causes cancer, but how likely it is do so.

Yet the media have shown little interest in the absolute risk of consuming red and processed meat, instead preferring ludicrously misleading summaries and downright falsehoods.

PBS, for instance, tweeted on Monday, “Bacon, hot dogs and processed meats cause cancer/are as dangerous as smoking, says @who.” PBS still hadn’t retracted this false statement as of Thursday afternoon, though it issued several “corrections” and “updates” that, if you clicked through to the small print, showed that the earlier tweet was simply wrong.

A similarly baco-phobic headline was this one in The Guardian: “Processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes — W.H.O. U.N. health body says bacon, sausages and ham among most carcinogenic substances along with cigarettes, alcohol, asbestos and arsenic.”

That’s like saying a bicycle ranks alongside an American Airlines ticket to LAX as things that could get you to California. Smoking increases your cancer risk by 20 times. The risk from meat is much, much less. Oscar Mayer is not Marlboro.

The IARC stomped all over The Guardian and PBS by noting, “Processed meat has been classified in the same category as causes of cancer such as tobacco smoking and asbestos but this does NOT mean that they are all equally dangerous.”

What about the IARC statement that “each 50-gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%”? Fifty grams is not a lot — it’s about two slices of bacon. Moreover, IARC ominously pointed out, there is no known safe level of processed-meat consumption.

Cancer Research UK, which, like every other cancer watcher, noted the link between cancer and processed meats years ago, put the degree of risk into perspective with a less alarmed blog post this week.

Out of every 1,000 Britons, said the group, you’d expect 66 to develop bowel cancer at some point in their lives — 10 more than the group who eat the least-processed meat.

Dr. Elizabeth Lund, a widely quoted expert in nutrition (she is a former research leader at the Institute of Food Research), says the actual risk is even smaller than that — three more people out of every 100,000 will get cancer due to their consumption of red meat.

Moreover, Lund points out in interviews that the benefits of eating meat went unmentioned by the IARC press release. Meat, for instance, is an excellent source of iron, and iron-deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional shortfall, with 9% to 20% of US women affected.

But let’s say the scarier numbers mentioned by Cancer Research UK are correct, and eating meat causes 10 additional people in a thousand to get bowel cancer. Ten in a thousand equals one in a hundred. That’s all you get for the expense, difficulty, preparation time and perpetual buzzkill of being a vegan?

One in a hundred for being the guy who brings the sad quinoa patty to every tailgate and insists, “But this is the FIRM kind of tofu” at every barbecue?

One in a hundred for being the dietary pain in the a## your friends mocked behind your back at the epic Five Napkin Burger outing to which you weren’t invited?

One in a hundred for being a lifelong prosciutto-prohibitionist, pepperoni-punter and pâté-pooper?

Re: Bacon Bad???

cherry — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 10:53:52 GMT

Craig Good, Promoting a healthy relationship with food.

Answered Oct 29, 2015 · Upvoted by David Chan, MD from UCLA, Stanford Oncology Fellowship

Very, very little in most cases.

The idea that there's a binary "this causes cancer" or "this doesn't cause cancer" is completely wrong. Pretty much everything can cause cancer.

The recent news about bacon and processed meats claimed a 17% increase in colorectal cancer rates. Whenever you see a percentage, ask "percentage ofwhat?" This isn't an absolute risk, but a relative one. Colorectal cancer is already pretty rare. Eating lots (and I mean lots) of bacon and sausage can raise your risk to 17% higher than this rare number. It's not an absolute percentage.

It's also wrong to think there's such a thing as one-size-fits-all nutrition advice. Different people have different risk factors. For most people a moderate amount of bacon and sausage is going to make no practical difference at all. For a few people those meats should be avoided.

Any story about food that seems to scare you should be ignored or cautiously re-evaluated.

Re: Bacon Bad???

sidsmom — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 12:10:28 GMT

@phoenixbrd wrote:
@sidsmom Thanks for posting the facts.

@phoenixbrd

Your welcome. That’s what to do...facts.

And this is the World Health Organization stating these facts,

not an opinion piece like all the posted opposition here &

everywhere in the interweb.

I started my career when employees could still smoke in offices.

I saw, first hand, the pushback & b-ing from everyone who had

to stand outside for a puff. Most eventually kicked the habit

and said quitting was the best thing.

Food is along those same lines. Eating cr.ap is just a bad addiction.

Funny to see people trying to justify their ‘smoking’ or ‘food cigarettes.’

Re: Bacon Bad???

phoenixbrd — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:05:23 GMT

@sidsmom Interesting that you wrote this. I realize this is difficult for some to accept....people are entrenched in their comfort and cultural conditioning. I understand this. However, just like the cigarettes, the change is occurring people are beginning to wake up and, from a purely economic view, the planet can't sustain the habit of eating meat/dairy, as well as the health and ethical considerations.

Someone always has a family member who has lived to one hundred and two or wants to take pride in living an unconscious life or posts "facts" produced by the meat industry who is fearful of the choices and changes taking place as well as the exposure of the truth of farm factory practices. The evidenced-based research that is current and ever growing by recognized - unpaid for - fact based institutions clearly states the health concerns of meat/dairy.

I constantly have to shake my head and, as you say, simply state the facts hoping it will be heard by those who have the ability to question their lifestyle. People fight hard to justify their addictions (especially corporations who have money at stake - it is significant that fast food operations are considering alternative choices on their menus). I think we can take comfort in the fact that many are considering and upgrading their lifestyle choices. It is only a matter of time and education.

Re: Bacon Bad???

Trinity11 — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:04:14 GMT

@bargainsgirl wrote:
So I just read that bacon and any processed meats (sausage...) are being blamed for increasing your chances of getting breast cancer. For those of you who have had breast cancer, are you giving these foods up now? Along with an occasional drink? Seems like all the good things are bad for you!!!

I haven't eaten bacon in probably more than 50 years. I rarely ate red meat, maybe 2 times a year but I still had breast cancer in my 30's and 2 heart attacks in my 60's. Contrast that to my uncle who lived to be almost 101 and had bacon and eggs daily with buttered toast. My soon to be 100 aunt always has a burger and fries when we have our weekly luncheon date. She is as sharp as a tac too and always seems so happy.

i think it can be summed up that my cardiologist was right all along. There is no such thing as a one size fits all diet. Personally, I still don't eat bacon and do not eat beef at all anymore but I am fully aware it may not prolong my longevity.. BTW, I was adopted at birth and don't have the same genetics as my aunt and uncle...wish I did.

Re: Bacon Bad???

Zhills — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:17:46 GMT

@Pook wrote:
If we did everything that is supposedly good for us and avoided everything that is supposedly bad for us here is what life would be like. Get up, slather sunscreen over your body every few hours even if not going outdoors - but then you'd have to so you could work on your garden to grow the safe plants so you don't get e coli. Don't eat harmful fatty meats, sugar, etc. Maybe we could get our nourishment from IV's. Don't drink anything but purified water as nothing else is good for you, work harder to clean things without using any chemicals. Don't drive much because of so many distracted drivers and car recalls. Stay away from cell phones, computers - even your tv and microwave as well to avoid harmful rays!! I could go on and on. Then when "research" comes out with retractions and other warnngs change the way you live again!! Not the way I want to live!! I will enjoy my bacon and anything else I find enjoyable.

I could "do" and/or "no do" all of these and I would get killed in a auto accident! You need to enjoy living!

Re: Bacon Bad???

proudlyfromNJ — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:29:00 GMT

Yes, I eat bacon. Just bought some yesterday when I went grocery shopping.

Re: Bacon Bad???

CLHS68 — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:38:58 GMT

So Many things are bad for you. So at my age I will eat what I want as we are all going to die anyway.