Bacon’s Superfood Status?

Posted on 28 October, 2015

Yesterday my Facebook feed backed up with news story of ‘bacon (and more broadly processed meat) causes bowel cancer’.

Lets just say it was a sad day for paleo devotees or the traditional Aussie ‘meat lover’ who were left wondering whether to change their diets or accept their fate.

I feel that yesterday’s media frenzy left the public more confused then ever, so let’s delve a little more into the issue of processed meat consumption and cancer.

What actually happened yesterday?

There were A LOT of news stories on this issue, most of which seemed like that just stole the information from each other. It took me a while but I eventually tracked down the original source to see what the fuss was all about.

Here’s the original press release from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) at The World Health Organisation (WHO) if you’re keen for more information.

To summarise, a group of 22 experts in cancer from around the world were commissioned to conduct a review of the research done around the association of processed meat and red meat consumption and the risk of developing cancer.

Red meat: The group concluded that consumption of red meat was “probably carcinogenic to humans based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect”.

This means that when they looked at consumption rates of red meat and whether or not people who consumed large amounts of red meat got cancer more than those who didn’t, the evidence was limited (this means take it with a grain of salt). When they looked at the mechanisms around the biochemistry of red meat and cancer, according to what we know about the chemistry of red meat, it should cause cancer.

Processed meat: “Processed meat was classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer.” This was the claim that surprised me,

‘Cause’ is a strong word to use 

The WHO definitely won in the publicity stakes yesterday. Using the word ’cause’, sure got the world’s attention. To say that processed meat causes cancer and that red meat probably causes cancer actually surprised me. It’s surprising because it’s rare that a large, reputable, evidenced-based organisation, in the field of nutrition, makes a claim thats so definitive.

In the research of nutrition, food intake is hard to measure, fraught with error and individual factors such as specific foods and nutrients are hard to control. Most of the research conducted in the science of nutrition are ‘C’ grade at best, rarely enough to say that “X causes Y”.

What did the WHO actually discover? 

In the age of social media and the self-proclaimed expert, it’s really important to go beyond the headlines of an article and actually read it before making a judgement or decision of it’s validity.

The media has a way of exaggerating nutrition research; announcing ‘mountains’ when really it was only a ‘molehill’ that was discovered.

The WHO discovered that an increased intake of processed meat is associated with an increased risk of bowel cancer. Delving further into the press release it goes on to say that “the experts concluded that each 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.” So really, it’s not a done deal of ‘eat processed meat, get cancer’. Uh Uh.

Eating processed meat regularly and in high amounts just increases the risk (probability or chance) of developing cancer, in particular, bowel cancer.

Causal vs Risk 

An increased risk is different from actually causing something.

For example: placing your hand on a hot stove will cause your hand to burn. There’s no doubt about it. I don’t say to my kids: “Carter, if you touch the hot oven there is a 34% chance you’ll be burnt.” I know he will be burnt.

When a scientific study concludes with ‘increased risk’, what it means is that when it looked at an entire population and asked questions about their processed meat consumption they sorted that population into groups ranging from high consumption to low consumption.

Then they measured the incidence of cancer in each of those groups. What they found is that as the consumption of proceed meat increased, there were higher rates of cancer in those groups.

We mustn’t forget other dietary factors 

Processed meat is not the only dietary factor that impacts bowel cancer or other cancer risk.

We also know that fruit and vegetable intake, fibre intake, fat intake, sugar intake and overal diet quality also plays a large roll in our long term health.

Most of the studies that examine these associations between particular foods/nutrients and cancer can’t control for all the variables.

What do I know? 

From my studies, I know that people who eat less meat/processed meat often tend to eat more vegetables. Is it eating less meat that reduces cancer risk or is it eating more vegetables?

High processed meat consumption is often associated with other poor dietary qualities, like low fibre consumption and low vegetable consumption. Is it processed meat that causes cancer or overal poor diet quality?

What comes first? The chicken or the egg? What is the meaning if life? Who am I?

So many questions to consider.

It’s actually old news

Nutritionists and dietitians have been recommending a reduction in processed meats and red meat, due to it’s association with cancer, for as long as I can remember (my career is up to 11 years so far). The recommendation to moderate meat and processed meat consumption is in our Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Apart from the odd ‘paleo health coach’ who I’ve seen prescribe bacon on a daily basis, all health professionals would agree that due to excessive amounts of salt, nitrates and other additives processed meat is best treated as a ‘sometimes’ food.

I’ve always taught and promoted this in my practice.

So how much meat is too much? 

You DO NOT need to cut out meat. Red meat is a great source of protein, iron, vitamin B12, magnesium and other nutrients.

We know that it can easily form part of a healthy balanced diet. But too much of anything is never a good thing. Meat probably shouldn’t be the main part of the meal, nor should you build a whole diet around it.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend keeping red meat to a serving size of around 100g (raw weight) and having no more than 455g per week. Again, this is just a guide, not a rule, and you have to find what’s right for you.

So how often can I eat bacon?

I get asked this question ALL THE TIME. And I can’t blame people. Bacon is good. Really good. However, it’s quite high in sodium (salt), nitrates and other additives.

I personally wouldn’t recommend eating it every day. One rasher of bacon (35g) contains 90% of the daily recommend intake (called an Adequate Intake) of salt.

So it’s easy to over do your salt intake considering most people eat other foods throughout the day as well! If you do enjoy some bacon regularly grab one thats nitrate free and keep your portion small (1 rasher).

Healthy eating is about balance and moderation. Moderation actually means: don’t do something to extreme or excess.

So bacon once a week would be fine, or a small amount in your meals 2-3 times per week would probably be ok too. You have to decide what is right for you.

Overall diet quality is the king of nutrition advice

Nutrition is more about what you DO eat, rather than what you DON’T eat. Like I mentioned earlier, processed meat is not the only dietary factor involved in cancer and bowel cancer risk.

Add half a plate of vegetables to as many meals as possible and ensure you’re meeting your daily fibre needs. Enjoy a wide variety of foods and of the meats that you do eat, swap some for poultry or seafood and whenever possible choose whole and fresh, rather than processed.

Think steak instead of sausages, pork chops instead of bacon, chicken breast instead of schnitzel or nuggets. Keep your intake of all processed foods to a minimum and work on finding your balance.

The team at The Healthy Eating Hub are passionate about helping you find a healthy eating pattern that rights for you. If you’re after some nutrition advice to point you in the right direction, then contact us for an appointment today.

Feature image of crispy sliced ethically raised organic bacon on a wooden plate via Shutterstock.