International cancer risk study gets blast from meat and drink clubs

An international cancer research study which has warned people to curb drinking, avoid processed meats such as bacon, ham, and sausages, and cut their intake of red meat and salt has met with an equal amount of criticism from cancer and food experts in the UK.

The controversial study was carried out by 21 international experts for the World Cancer Research Fund and claimed that even so-called healthy fruit and vegetables only offered limited protection against cancer.

One of the key findings was that being fat was as bad for the body as smoking and that excess body fat could trigger at least six common cancers including those affecting the breast, bowel, and pancreas. There was strong evidence that red meat and processed meats could cause bowel cancer while there were strong links between alcohol and mouth, oesophagus, and breast cancers.

The experts in this study said there was no safe level of drinking alcohol. People who take small amounts of alcohol to protect against heart disease should limit themselves to two drinks a day for men and one for women.

The project’s director, Professor Martin Wiseman, said his team had checked 7,000 of the best studies on cancer, diet, and exercise produced over the past 40 years. He said that individual studies were impossible to put into proper context whereas this project report was based on the best possible advice available.

But CancerPartners UK said that cancer could not be reduced to a single formula. It would take a great deal of eating the wrong foods to significantly raise cancer risk. “This gives the impression that if you don’t eat a sausage you won’t get cancer,” a spokesman for CancerPartners said.

Richard Lowe, chief executive of the UK Meat and Livestock Commission, said “we were surprised by the extremely draconian recommendation not to eat processed meats. Ham and bacon are two of the most popular meat products in Britain. The Food Standards Agency recommends red meat, including processed meats, as apart of a healthy balanced diet”.

Mark Hastings, of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the report did not explain how it was decided that even small amounts of alcohol put people at risk “There’s a risk attached to everything in life, from stepping outside the front door to driving a car. I don’t think this report should deter people from having a social drink,” he said.