Looks like bacon and sausages are not the only ones we need to say good bye to. Just recently, the World Health Organization announced that red meat such as bacon and sausages are cancerous. Moreover, a new study found that barbeque might also be as dangerous and can cause kidney cancer.
A recent study from the University of Texas MD Anderson concluded that diets high in meat may lead to an increased risk of developing RCC or Renal Cell Carcinoma-especially when meat are cooked in certain cooking techniques such as barbecuing and pan-frying. These techniques generate carcinogenic compounds in the meat.
Renal Cell Carcinoma is the most common form of kidney cancer. As concluded by the American Cancer Society, RCC is expected to be diagnosed in over 60,000 new patients this year and cause approximately 14,000 deaths. The cases of RCC have been rising in number for several decades and many health experts suggest that a Western diet is, to some extent, to blame.
As explained by lead author Stephanie Melkonian, the reason why Western diet is linked to increased cancer risk is the higher-than-average meat consumption. However, it is still not clear as to why eating more meat elevates cancer risk.
To further prove whether meat consumption really influence cancer risks, the University of Texas study surveyed the eating patterns and collected genetic information of 659 MD Anderson patients newly diagnosed with RCC and 699 healthy participants recruited from the community. The researchers estimated meat consumption and exposure to meat-cooking mutagens through survey responses with the help of a National Cancer Institute database.
Xifeng Wu Ph.D., senior author of the study, related the results suggesting that cooking method is an important factor contributing to the elevated RCC risk linked with consuming more meat, as both red and white meat resulted in increased risk.
The researchers do not encourage individuals should remove meats from their diets, but instead consume it in moderation, together with fruits and vegetables. Charring should also be avoided when grilling or pan-frying meat.