Meat and colon cancer: which kind matters?
Processed and Unprocessed Red Meat and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: Analysis by Tumor Location and Modification by Time
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Unprocessed red meat was linked to *lower* risk of distal colon cancer
This contradicts the widespread belief that all red meat is bad. It suggests that when you control for healthy behaviors, unprocessed meat doesn’t act like a carcinogen.
Practical Takeaways
Limit daily bacon, hot dogs, and deli meats to reduce long-term colon cancer risk.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Unprocessed red meat was linked to *lower* risk of distal colon cancer
This contradicts the widespread belief that all red meat is bad. It suggests that when you control for healthy behaviors, unprocessed meat doesn’t act like a carcinogen.
Practical Takeaways
Limit daily bacon, hot dogs, and deli meats to reduce long-term colon cancer risk.
Publication
Journal
PLoS ONE
Year
2015
Authors
A. Bernstein, M. Song, Xuehong Zhang, A. Pan, Molin Wang, C. Fuchs, N. Le, A. Chan, W. Willett, S. Ogino, E. Giovannucci, Kana Wu
Related Content
Claims (6)
Regular red meat, like steak or roast, isn't the same as processed stuff like bacon or hot dogs — they're made differently and might affect your health in different ways, so experts say we shouldn't treat them the same when studying their health effects.
Eating more unprocessed red meat might seem linked to lower risk of a certain type of colon cancer in health pros, but it's probably because these folks eat healthier overall — not because the meat itself is protective.
Eating processed red meat in the last few years doesn’t seem to raise the risk of a certain type of colon cancer in US health pros — it might be how much you've eaten over a lifetime that matters more.
Eating more processed red meat — like bacon or hot dogs — is linked to a higher chance of getting a certain type of colon cancer, especially if you've been eating it for years. Cutting back could help lower your risk.
Eating unprocessed red meat every day might slightly increase the chance of getting a type of colon cancer, but the data isn’t strong enough to say for sure — it could just be chance.