Bacon lovers around the world have screamed foul over the news that their beloved meat has been considered dangerous. Global health authorities' claim that bacon along with other processed meats are carcinogenic, which basically means these are likely to cause cancer. So is it true? An exclusive report by the Guardian breaks down the trend.
Early October of 2015, a report by the World Cancer Research Fund International released a report stating that bacon, sausages, and ham are hazardous to health. These processed meats known to be a staple favorite in the American diet are as dangerous as cigarettes and alcohol. Thus, the World Health Organization had officially ranked bacon as Group-1 carcinogen, which is the same rank as uranium, asbestos, cigarettes, and plutonium.
So does this really mean that bacon is dangerous and that you should cut it out completely off your diet? The answer: not really. As long as you limit your intake of such meat at 500 grams per week, or 70 grams per day - simply to reduce the chances of cancer. Yet, it's still an incomplete picture. What exactly causes beloved sweet bacon to becoming carcinogenic? Nobody knows.
"There are some mechanistic explanations for why processed meats might cause colorectal or bowel cancer," says Louis Levy, the head of nutrition science at Public Health England (PHE), in the report by the Guardian, adding, "such as something carcinogenic that happens during the cooking process or something used to preserve them."
Surprisingly, eating bacon isn't really a bad thing. It all depends on your diet and lifestyle. Studies show that people who consume a surprising amount of processed meats, such as bacon, ham, and sausage, had poor diets and a very unhealthy lifestyle. Thus, these people were more predisposed to the likelihood of cancer.
It's all about quantity over quality. Rather than consuming 70 grams of bacon, or any other processed meat in a day, cut back on the meat and opt for something healthier. Dig into fish, vegetables, and oats. A bite of bacon once in a while wouldn't hurt, and it is definitely not dangerous for your health as long as you stick to the limit of 70 grams a day.
