Posted on 01/13/2012 5:59:46 PM PST by BenLurkin
Breakfast lovers, beware. A new study found eating processed meats like bacon and sausage could increase your risk for deadly pancreatic cancer.
For every piece of sausage or two strips of bacon a person eats every day, there's a 19 percent rise in risk for pancreatic cancer, the study found.
"There is strong evidence that being overweight or obese increases the risk of pancreatic cancer and this study may be an early indication of another factor behind the disease," Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science at The World Cancer Research Fund, told BBC News.
For the study, researchers reviewed 11 studies and case reports on more than 6,000 pancreatic cancer patients, looking for a link between eating red and processed meats and cancer. The researchers found the raised risk was tied to every 50 grams of processed meat a person eats per day. If you're the type who eats 150 grams of processed meat a day - from only three sausages or six strips of bacon - your pancreatic cancer risk shoots up 57 percent, the study suggests.
What about red meat, which has been linked to stomach and esophageal cancers?
Evidence was inconclusive, the researchers said. Men who ate 120 grams of red meat per day saw their pancreatic cancer risk increase 29 percent, compared with men who don't eat red meat. This effect was not seen in women, however, possibly because men in the study ate more red meat than women, the researchers said.
The study is published in the Jan. 12 issue of the British Journal of Cancer.
The numbers sound scary, but experts say this added risk is relatively small when you factor in overall pancreatic cancer rates in the general population. According to the National Cancer Institute, 13.6 per 100,000 U.S. men develop pancreatic cancer, compared with 10.7 pancreatic cases per 100,000 women. The researchers also said smoking is a bigger risk factor, which increases pancreatic cancer risk by 74 percent.
"Pancreatic cancer has poor survival rates," study author associate professor Susanna Larsson, a researcher at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, said in a written statement. "If diet does affect pancreatic cancer, then this could influence public health campaigns to help reduce the number of cases of this disease developing in the first place."
Processed meats, including sausage, pepperoni, bacon, ham, smoked turkey, and hot dogs, often contain nitrates and nitrites, which have been tied to cancer. Last August, a study of 300,000 men and women, published in the journal Cancer, found people who ate large amounts of processed meats had a 30 percent increased risk for bladder cancer, HealthPop reported.
James H. Hodges, president of the American Meat Institute, was not swayed by the new study, because it only took into account epidemiological data, and didn't look at other lifestyle factors that could contribute to cancer. He said in a written statement that eating red and processed meats is part of a healthy, balanced diet.
"More often than not, epidemiological studies, over time, provide more contradictions than conclusions," he said.
Theory is that folks won't borrow it. Or you quit licking your lips, or something.
/johnny
"There is strong evidence that being overweight or obese increases the risk of pancreatic cancer...
So which is the actual risk? Eating bacon, or being overweight?
Did they control for weight?
Did the people that ate more bacon also weigh more (likely, since eating more contributes to weighing more)?
Unless the eliminated the weight variable (which means all the subjects in the test need to have the same amount of body fat) there's no way to tell if the cause was the bacon or the weight.
Why am I skeptical? Because, there are special interest groups (PETA, vegetarian groups) that have an agenda of eliminating the consumption of all meat. And, if that means fudging a few numbers here or there, they are happy to do it.
For real? Eeew....
True, that.
Old Doc Carter slapped me on the ass, handed mom my birth certificate and handed me a post-dated death certificate.
Good reason to be right with the Lord. Man never knows when his time will come.
/johnny
Needless to say, I'll stick with using lard for lip-balm, like God intended.
/johnny
These people come up with more BS excuses for the cause of Cancer, but they cannot come up with a cure.
A little 17 year old girl has to do that for them.
First it was eggs , then cooked meat, then the sun, then cigarettes, now it’s bacon.
These are the same brilliant scientists that gave us Global Warming.
The numbers sound scary, but experts say this added risk is relatively small when you factor in overall pancreatic cancer rates in the general population. According to the National Cancer Institute, 13.6 per 100,000 U.S. men develop pancreatic cancer, compared with 10.7 pancreatic cases per 100,000 women. The researchers also said smoking is a bigger risk factor, which increases pancreatic cancer risk by 74 percent.
13.6 per 100,000? 0.0136%; Statistically zero. Even less for women.
They don't say how many of those were smokers, but my guess it is pretty high.
How many people were in the study? 100, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 what? In a group of 10,000 you would expect 1-2 people to get it according to the numbers. If 3 or even 4 people got it, I can't see how it would be statistically significant. It's just too small a sample size given the rate of occurrance.
Good for you! Congratulations. I love stories like yours!
Another load of crap from the fat police.
You expect libs to be able to do a chi-squared disto? Or manage a T-Test without someone from either the engineering/chemistry/math/culinary department helping them?
/johnny
How come none of my Southern ancestors got pancreatic cancer, even though they chowed down on ham, bacon, sausage, pork chops, ribs, barbecue, and all the other fruits of the pig? Hm? Hm?
(Wait a minute. Maybe it was because they mostly got shot by Yankees before they had a chance to develop cancer.)
Yeah, and every time I fart my chances of hearing loss increases.
Eating Food Causes Cancer, story at six.
Thanks BenLurkin.
My dad died of pancreatic cancer. He was a health fanatic who never drank soft drinks, didn’t smoke, rarely drank and was not overweight. He ate lots of fruits and vegetable and didn’t eat junk food. The worst thing he did was eat 2 eggs/day and drink whole milk. Diabetes runs in our family. I’m more likely to believe that pancreatic cancer is related to faulty carb/sugar metabolism as well as smoking. Patrick Swayze smoked 4 pack of cigarettes/day. My dad was a bowler and was exposed to plenty of second-hand smoke.
5 of every 3 people don't understand percentages.
Wow! Bacon really makes everything better!
In a few years, another study will come out stating that eating bacon is good for you. Just like coffee was bad and now it’s good. Wine was bad, and now it’s good. Margarine was good and butter was evil. Nope, check that. Margarine has transfats, butter has natural fats, butter is better.
Eggs were bad, now their good.
Eating fat makes you fat, eating carbs keeps you thin. Uh...wait a minute, we were mistaken, eating CARBS makes you fat and eating FAT makes you thin. That’s it.
Hey food nazis, give it a rest.
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