You may have heard the alarming findings this week by The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer research agency of The World Health Organization (WHO), said red meat and processed meat cause cancer?

IARC said red meat including beef, pork and lamb PROBABLY cause cancer and processed meat such as bacon, ham, sausage, hotdogs, cold cuts and jerky DO cause cancer.

I repeat: red meat and processed meat cause cancer just like smoking!

With cancer being the number two killer in this country, second only to heart disease, these new findings are cause for concern. Especially considering the Western diet and how meat focused it traditionally is!

The new report uses more direct language to associate a direct connection between red meat and cancer, something that is different than what has been communicated in recent years by other researchers. It has been long associated but, never such direct language to explain the connection by either red meat or processed meat.

Furthermore, the group classified processed meat (bacon, hotdogs, lunch meat, sausage and jerky) as carcinogenic to humans.

Do you wonder what types of cancers are caused by it? Stomach, pancreatic, prostate and some breast cancers to name a few.

The findings support the current recommendations by public health officials to limit meat consumption.

More research is bound to take place and further examine the connection and causal relationship between cancer and red meat, as well as processed meat.

I, for one, am all for a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts and healthier protein options than red meat or processed meat. If you are interested, check out Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating meal plans to learn more about what plan is right for you – our traditional meal plan that contains poultry and fish, or our vegetarian plan that does not. The choice is yours, but rest assured, you won’t find any red meat (or bacon) in sight on our plan!