Eating meat more than 10 times a week almost doubles the chances of bowel cancer. There has been a longstanding controversy about whether a diet rich in meat increases the risk of cancer. In this context, studies were carried out by researchers in Europe and Australia. The chief investigators belonged to the European Cancer Prevention Organisation and the Cancer Council Australia.
A prospective study of 522,000 people in 10 European countries found a modest association between cancers of the bowel and stomach and a daily intake of more than 60 g of processed meat. They also found that people who ate more than 25 g of fibre a day were 40% less likely to develop bowel cancer than those eating less than 10 g a day. Also those who ate more than 250 g of fruit and vegetables daily had a modest reduction in digestive tract cancers.
Meanwhile, the initial findings from a study of 38,917 people in Melbourne, Australia show that those who ate red meat or pork, or both, more than 10 times a week were 1.8 times more likely to develop bowel cancer during the first 10 years of follow up. Those who ate processed meat more than five times a week were 1.5 times more likely to develop bowel cancer than those eating it no more than once a week.
These findings suggest that some meat lovers are at an increased risk of bowel cancer and could reduce their risk by eating less meat.
BMJ, June 2002, Vol. 324 (7353)