With summer coming up many folks start watching their diets to get in beach body shape, however there is an even more important reason to watch your diet. CANCER!! Yes cancer!! The World Health Organization has determined that dietary factors account for 30 percent of all cancers in Western countries and up to 20 percent in developing countries. Today I’m going to discuss the relationship between diets high in meats and cancer.
Countries with a higher intake of fat, especially fat from animal products, such as dairy and meat have a higher incidence of breast cancer. For example Japan’s traditional diet is much lower in fat from animals than that of our typical western diet. It’s no surprise their incidence of breast cancer is very low. In a study conducted in the 1940’s, when breast cancer was a rarity, it was shown less than 10 percent of the calories in the Japanese diet came from fat. The American diet is high in fat and low in other important nutrients, with 30 to 35 percent of calories coming from fat. As Americans our diets are centered on animal products instead of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Check out this fact- Women in Japan who eat meat daily have 8.5 times higher risk of breast cancer than those who never eat meat! Wow isn’t that crazy? Why is this? Research shows, the consumption of high-fat foods such as fast foods, meats, dairy products, fried foods, and even vegetable oils causes a woman’s body to make more estrogens and this can result in cancer cell growth in the breast and other organs to flourish. Neal, Barnard, M.D. states Meat “promotes intolerable suffering and disease-not only to animals, but also for many Americans by raising their risk of heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, and early death.”
Colorectal Cancer is also correlated to meat consumption. Harvard University researchers zeroed in on red meat, finding “individuals eating beef, pork, or lamb daily have approximately three times the colon cancer risk, compared to people who generally avoid these products.” High processed meat intake (ham, cold cuts, hot dogs, bacon, sausage) along with a high intake of white meat have approximately a THREEFOLD higher colon cancer risk, compared to vegetarians. Whoa!! It’s good thing I like my veggies!
Of course as with anything moderation is key! Enjoy your summer BBQ’s but make sure to add some fruits and veggies and whole grains to your plate!
I hope you have found this information useful! Stay tuned for my next blog!! It’s “insured” to be interesting!!
#ConniePhillips #Insurance #Cancer