Colorectal Cancer and Meat — What’s the Connection?

Posted by Kate Murphy on August 5th, 2010

Are those steaks and hot dogs bad for you?

Several studies have found a connection between eating red and processed meat and colorectal cancer.  But the reason for that connection hasn’t been clear.

To answer the question, researchers collected detailed information about the type of meat eaten by a large group of over 300,000 men and women and how the meat was  cooked. Read the rest of this entry »

Why is Red Meat Associated with Colon Cancer Risk? New Clues.

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on May 18th, 2009

I’ve been reading about why red meat is associated with higher colon cancer risk. Initially it was thought it was because of the fat in the meat, but this has changed. It may due to protein.

Worldwide, red meat consumption in countries matches colon cancer incidence perfectly. Countries where people eat a lot of red meat such as US, Europe, and South America have the highest incidence. Countries like Japan, China, and the Far East, which have increased their intake of red meat with the westernization of diet, have the highest increase of colon cancer incidence. Japan, a country which used to have the lowest incidence of colon cancer, has now a higher incidence than the USA.  Japan has a dramatic shortage of oncologists to deal with the increasing number of cases. Read the rest of this entry »