Red Meat & Cancer: Do Processed Meats Raise Bladder Cancer Risk?

By: Aina Hunter
Topics: News ,; Cancer ,; Diet

Substances found in hot dogs and other processed meats linked to bladder cancer in new study.(iStockphoto)

(CBS) What's for lunch? If you're health conscious, maybe you'll go for a fresh garden salad sprinkled with bacon bits or cubes of ham?

Well, guess what. The more processed red meat you consume, the more likely you may be to develop bladder cancer, a new study suggests.

Processed meats, including sausage, pepperoni, bacon, ham, smoked turkey, and hot dogs, often contain nitrates and nitrites.

When consumed in large quantities and over a long period of time, these twin preservatives increase the risk for bladder cancer, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer.

The study was based on dietary information on about 300,000 men and women between the ages of 50 and 71. Those whose diets contained the highest amounts of nitrate and nitrate from processed meats had an almost 30 percent increased risk for bladder cancer compared to those who consumed the smallest amounts of these compounds.

Despite the finding, the link between processed meat and bladder cancer should be considered tentative, lead researcher Dr. Amanda J. Cross, of the National Cancer Institute, said in a written statement. She said more research was needed to confirm the link.

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by jasperlily August 23, 2010 6:55 PM EDT: We've known for a couple of decades at the least that processed meats are carcinogenic - because of the chemicals in it, not the meat. Of course, nowadays, just the meat has chemicals in it as do the crops that the meat eats before it's dead LOL; Reply to this comment


by djseavy August 23, 2010 5:38 PM EDT: Here we go again with another "scare." Where is all the money coming from to do these ridiculous studies? Is PETA behind this one?; Reply to this comment

by SunDog8259 August 23, 2010 4:52 PM EDT

Yeah, we hear it all the time "red meats" cause cancer and heart disease due to "artery clogging saturated fat" -- yawn. Now it's processed meats. I wonder if their "scientific survey" asked if they were smokers? Whenever I see "linked to" in an abstract I think that just means they are guessing. They should check into the harm all the soy and vegetable oils do to us.

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by erasmus111 August 23, 2010 4:56 PM EDT: "They should check into the harm all the soy and vegetable oils do to us."

They already have.

And here, they are not talking about the "saturated fats" they are talking about the CHEMICALS that are in it. The NITRATES.

by itgranny August 23, 2010 3:45 PM EDT

"Despite the finding, the link between processed meat and bladder cancer should be considered tentative, lead researcher Dr. Amanda J. Cross, of the National Cancer Institute, said in a written statement. She said more research was needed to confirm the link."

They keep trying to draw a link between cancer and meat, and yet trial after trial they can't. Quit already!

http://www.meatami.com/ht/display/ArticleDetails/i/40993

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by erasmus111 August 23, 2010 5:04 PM EDT: They aren't talking about the "meat", itself. They are talking about the PRESERVATIVES that are in it. I don't need them to tell me that. Anyone with a brain knows that all the CHEMICALS that we are ingesting are going to cause major problems down the road.