How Unhealthy are Processed Meats?

The World Health Organisation has released a summary (ahead of its full report) on a possible link between cancer and processed or red meats. The summary concludes that a diet high in these foods can cause an increased risk of developing cancer and especially colorectal cancer. However they have noted that eating red meat has its known health benefits.

So what should we do?

For most people, one or two portions of grass fed, organic red meat per week, can be beneficial due to its mineral and vitamin content (i.e iron, zinc, vitamin B12). However avoiding processed meats is advisable. Processed meat is preserved by smoking , salting, curing or the addition of preservatives. These processes can form carcinogens (cancer forming substances). Furthermore, processed meat often contains a number of additional additives that can be harmful to our health. 

Take a look at the link to the summary below. It’s an interesting and straight forward read.

http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Monographs-Q&A_Vol114.pdf