Sunny Health

The fact that red meats like beef and processed meats like bacon and luncheon meat are not exactly the healthiest food products around has not been news to us. Health enthusiasts and doctors have harped about how fattening and threatening these delicacies are for our heart and weight. Nevertheless, many of us continue to indulge ourselves for their satisfying taste. For those who care about their health, it shouldn't be too difficult to get rid of the calories gained through a few trips to the gym, right?

But the recent announcement by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - that there is a link between some types of meat and some forms of cancer - bowel cancer in particular, will likely prompt many meat lovers to revise their diets. After all, cancer is more challenging to manage than some extra pounds.

Before you panic and start swearing off meat completely due to this piece of news, which isn't a bad thing but could backfire if 1) you don't get sufficient nutrients 2) It's too torturous and you throw in the towel, let's get some facts right:

Red meat is meat that is dark red colour before cooking or processing. Common and obvious examples include beef and lamb. But perhaps unbeknownst to many, pork is also on the list. There are some causal links between red meat and increased risk of cancer, but the links are not definitive.

Processed meat is meat that is not sold fresh, but has undergone some form of processing like curing, canning, smoking and other forms of preservation methods to prolong its shelf life. This includes bacon, luncheon meat, sausages and ham. Frequent consumption is established to increase the risk of contracting cancer.

White meat, like chicken and fish, are not known to increase the risk of cancer and are safe alternatives. This should not be much of a surprise as they are often touted as healthier alternatives when it comes to calorie intake. So meat lovers, take heart!

As for tasty indulgences like processed meat, let them remain indulgences, but you don't have to avoid them like plague. Of course, you probably should for better health, but if that might make you go cold turkey, realise that just because you enjoy the occasional traditional English breakfast with sausages and bacon doesn't automatically make you a candidate for cancer.

Professor Phillips of Cancer Research UK has a layman analogy for it: "...think of banana skins. They definitely can cause accidents, but in practice this doesn’t happen very often. And the sort of harm you can come to from slipping on a banana skin isn’t generally as severe as, say, being in a car accident."

However, under a hazard identification system like IARC’s, both ‘banana skins’ and ‘cars’ would come under the same category – they both definitely do cause accidents.