Three rashers of bacon is around 70g. Photo: Getty
If you're settling down to a full English breakfast (or a fried brunch if you were lucky enough to have a lie-in this morning), you might want to consider the latest news from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition before you tuck in.
The SACN report, which is due to be published in the next few days, is expected to repeat the committee's earlier findings on meat consumption - that is, that eating what's considered to be a high amount of red and processed meat could increase your risk of developing bowel cancer.
Reports suggest the government will recommend that you eat no more than 500g (1.1lb) of red or processed meat each week and no more than 70g per day. Red meat includes beef, pork, lamb and veal, while processed meats include sausages, bacon, ham, tinned meat, pate and meats that have been preserved, smoked or salted.
To give you an idea of what 70g of red or processed meat is in real terms, it's around three rashers of bacon or the amount of minced beef in a portion of Bolognese sauce (about 60g). Just two pork sausages would, however, put you over the recommended limit at 100g.
It's not the first time red and processed meats have been linked with bowel cancer, with the previous government's Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, having stated that cutting meat consumption by 30% could prevent as many as 18,000 deaths each year.
If you're a committed carnivore, does this news bother you?