Details Published on Friday, 11 May 2012 00:00 Written by PHILIP CHUA
While meat has to be properly cooked to be safe, burning the meat is to be avoided.
IN a previous column, we wrote A diet high in processed meat (sausages, luncheon meats, etc.) may increase the risk of carnivores developing pancreatic cancer by almost 70%, following the release of a major study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The study showed an average of 41 cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed per 100,000 people each year among those who ate the most processed meat compared with 20 cases among those who ate the least.
This research, which included 180,000 individuals, also found that individuals who ate even non-processed, fresh, red meats, including pork, beef, and any other red meats, had a 50% higher risk of having cancer of the pancreas. While this is 20% lower compared to those who ate processed meats, 50% increase in the risk is still too high for comfort, since pancreatic cancer is a very painful and fatal disease, with no known cure.
In 2005 alone, 32,180 Americans and 60,000 Europeans were found to have pancreatic cancer, a disease that is often diagnosed late because they are not readily obvious clinically. Less than 5% of these patients live for more than five years after the cancer is first detected.
Scientists think the culprit-carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) may not be the saturated fat in red meats but the nitrate-based preservatives and the cooking method, like charcoal-grilling and broiling. Apparently, the cooking method and the nitrate preservatives each play a great role as carcinogens.
The burnt part of the meat, the black charcoal-like portion of the barbequed meat, is suspected to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing). While meat has to be properly cooked to be safe, burning the meat is to be avoided.
While the saturated fat in fresh (no preservative) red meat appears not to be linked to pancreatic cancer in this study, other studies have shown that people who eat red meat regularly have a higher risk for developing cancer of the colon, breast, and other cancers in general, compared to those who minimize eating red meat or not at all. Red meat also causes a quick rise in the cholesterol blood level, a condition that increases the risk for the development of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and Alzheimers.
New alarming studies
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Malaya Business Insight
