The tale of the little �RED� meat and Bladder cancer!!!

Posted by Nithin Jayan on Mon, Sep 13, 2010
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I have reason to celebrate. Beef has often filled my tummy. But call it an intuition; I always hated beef. Something always made me feel guilty after ordering a beef fry in a hotel (out of temptation anyway). Don’t even dare to think of bulimia. Before you grin, I’ll be frank, ‘no religion involved’. Well I landed up by chance over this one month old news (published in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society): A new study suggests that consuming specific compounds in meat related to processing methods may be associated with an increased risk of developing bladder cancer.

The consumption of red and processed meats is linked to an increased risk of developing several different types of cancer. If someone is confused with what is ‘red’, know this: Red meat reaches your gut every time you devour the meat of cow or sheep (yeah, you said it: beef and mutton). Chicken is ‘white’ by the way! Red meat has more myoglobin than chicken or fish. Myoglobin may be thought of as one of the proteins that hold on oxygen in muscles.

Nitrites that form a part of preservatives used in processed meat have a definite association with bladder cancer. So dear West (or the fast growing fast food cult of the East), start thinking before placing an order for a hot dog or pepperoni.

The risk of acquiring a cancer from red meat raises several folds when:

You are less physically active (Me? No more!)
You eat too little of fruits and vegetables.
You smoke (stop that, it only kills you)

Well, this article should definitely not misguide you. Nothing lasts, every theory get rewritten someday. "Our findings highlight the importance of studying meat-related compounds to better understand the association between meat and cancer risk," says Amanda J. Cross, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Md. who lead the team of researchers. That definitely means that more conclusive studies will walk in soon.

Source: Cancer, journal