Even moderate amounts of ham, bacon and red meat could increase your risk of bowel cancer, new research suggests.
People who stick to the NHS guidelines on red and processed meat consumption – 70g a day – still increase their risk of bowel cancer by a fifth compared with those who eat very small amounts, a study part-funded by Cancer Research UK concluded.
The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, found eating three rashers of bacon a day rather than just one could increase the risk of bowel cancer by 20%. Overall, people consuming an average of 76g per day of red and processed meat had a 20% higher risk of bowel cancer compared with those who ate 21g per day.
“Our results strongly suggest that people who eat red and processed meat four or more times a week have a higher risk of developing bowel cancer than those who eat red and processed meat less than twice a week,” said
Researchers examined data from 475,581 people aged 40 to 69 and followed them for an average of 5.7 years. During this time, 2,609 people developed bowel cancer.
For red meat only, the risk was 15% higher for people who ate 54g per day (about one thick slice of roast beef or one lamb chop) on average, compared with those who had 8g per day.
For processed meat only, the risk was 19% higher for those who had an average of 29g per day (about one rasher of bacon or a slice of ham), compared with those who had an average of 5g per day.
There was some good news: those who had a high intake of fibre from bread and breakfast cereals lowered their risk of bowel cancer by 14%.
Professor Tim Key, who co-authored the study and is deputy director at the University of Oxford’s cancer epidemiology unit, concluded that there’s “substantial evidence” that red and processed meat are linked to bowel cancer.
He said existing evidence points to an increased bowel cancer risk for every 50g of processed meat a person eats per day – but the new study found that risk increases at just 25g per day.
Should we cut out red meat altogether? Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK’s head of health information, said not entirely – but you may want to think about simple ways to reduce how much you have and how often. Think about how much you’re eating, she said: a slice of ham or rasher of bacon weighs about 20g, while a slice of roast beef or lamb is about 50g.
“Although breaking habits we’ve had for a long time can be hard, it’s never too late to make healthy changes to our diet,” she said. “You could try doing meat-free Mondays, looking for recipes using fresh chicken and fish, or swapping meat for pulses like beans and lentils in your usual meals.”