Eating red meat increases the risk of colon cancer, research says

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Researchers say red meat consumption increases the risk of colon cancer
Researchers say red meat consumption increases the risk of colon cancer

New Delhi : There is a warning signal for those who loves to eat red meat. Researchers in UK say that consuming red meat increases the risk of ‘colon cancer’. A report from IARC mentioned that processed meat increase the risk of cancer of the colon, rectum, pancreas and also prostate.

Though there have been speculations about red meat consumption, a large number of people have been consuming red meat for generations now. However, there are sections who believe it can also cause great harm to the human body. 

For now, UK researchers too say that cutting out red meat from one diet could significantly reduce the risk of cancer, especially the colon cancer. The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Leeds and the University of the Basque Country in Spain. The aim of the study was to check the effect of red meat, poultry, fish or vegetarian diets on the risk of colon and rectal cancer. 

Accordingly, the researchers gathered data from 32,147 women aged 35-69 years in England, Wales, and Scotland, who were taking part in the United Kingdom Women’s Cohort Study and followed for an average of 17 years. After observing the women’s diet, the researchers looked at four common eating patterns

In this study, vegetarian was defined as those who consumed red meat poultry, or fish less than once a week; fish eaters were defined as those who consumed fish at least once a week but not poultry or red meat; poultry eaters consumed poultry at least once a week and may eat fish but not red meat; and red meat eaters were defined as those participants who consumed meat at least once a week and may or may not consume poultry and fish. Red meat included beef, pork, lamb, offal and processed meat.

When connecting the link between each diet and the risk of cancer in specific subsites of the colon, the researchers found that women who regularly ate red meat had higher rates of distal colon cancer -- cancer found on the last section of the colon -- compared to those who ate a red meat-free diet.

A research performed in 2015 also suggested that a high intake or red and processed meats could increase the risk of cancer. A report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that analyzed 800 studies from around the world found that processed meat increased the risk of cancer of the colon and rectum and also of the pancreas and prostate. The research was published in the International Journal of Cancer.