WHO: Processed Meat Causes Cancer

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/26/news/red-meat-processed-cancer-world-health-organization/index.html

Hotdogs, bologna, bacon sausages, ham, pepperoni--I guess all that is a 'no-no' now. WHO is even claiming that red meat is carcinogenic.

I eat a lot more chicken and fish since my heart attack last November 26th.

I still occasionally eat most of the processed meats I named above... I love bacon, but have only eaten it once in the last year, when previously it was on the menu each Saturday morning.

I heard this earlier... how is bacon processed?

Does this mean if we buy beef and pork which is labeled "organic",  that it won't give us cancer?

Your risk increases from 5% to 6%.

I think it's a move by the Chick Fil A cows.

The wording on that article is incredibly misleading.  When someone says "A causes B", it implies that it is very likely that B will happen if A happens.  That isn't even remotely what the WHO study concluded.

More correctly stated, that should have said that "A very slightly increases the likelihood of B";  whereas A = eating processed meats daily and B = getting colorectal cancer.

Your odds of getting colorectal cancer are 5%.   The study concluded that eating processed meats every day "can increase the risk of such cancer by 18%".  Not "will" but "can".   Even if we assume the worst and say that your odds of getting colorectal cancer increase by 18%, what you're bascically looking at is a change from a 5% likelihood of getting colorectal cancer versus a 5.9% chance.

boards of FL wrote:The wording on that article is incredibly misleading.  When someone says "A causes B", it implies that it is very likely that B will happen if A happens.  That isn't even remotely what the WHO study concluded.

More correctly stated, that should have said that "A very slightly increases the likelihood of B";  whereas A = eating processed meats daily and B = getting colorectal cancer.

Your odds of getting colorectal cancer are 5%.   The study concluded that eating processed meats every day "can increase the risk of such cancer by 18%".  Not "will" but "can".   Even if we assume the worst and say that your odds of getting colorectal cancer increase by 18%, what you're bascically looking at is a change from a 5% likelihood of getting colorectal cancer versus a 5.9% chance.

I would imagine that it also will greatly depend on whether or not and how often you get a colonoscopy.  Do you agree?

Bob wrote:

boards of FL wrote:The wording on that article is incredibly misleading.  When someone says "A causes B", it implies that it is very likely that B will happen if A happens.  That isn't even remotely what the WHO study concluded.

More correctly stated, that should have said that "A very slightly increases the likelihood of B";  whereas A = eating processed meats daily and B = getting colorectal cancer.

Your odds of getting colorectal cancer are 5%.   The study concluded that eating processed meats every day "can increase the risk of such cancer by 18%".  Not "will" but "can".   Even if we assume the worst and say that your odds of getting colorectal cancer increase by 18%, what you're bascically looking at is a change from a 5% likelihood of getting colorectal cancer versus a 5.9% chance.

I would imagine that it also will greatly depend on whether or not and how often you get a colonoscopy.  Do you agree?

My understanding is that a colonoscopy is a diagnostic tool. If that is the case, a colonoscopy wouldn't have any impact on whether or not you get cancer. It could improve your prognosis by catching something early, but it wouldn't in itself have any influence on whether or not you get cancer (if I am correct in assuming that it is simply a diagnostic tool).

It can also detect and then remove polyps. A laser can also zap abnormal growths.