Take a look at your weekly diet and figure out how ofter you eat one or more of the following. Every time one meets the criteria give it one point. For example, if you eat 2 pieces of bacon in one week, that is one point, but if you eat six pieces of bacon in a week that is 3 points. If you also have 1 sausage that is another point, or you have a bologna sandwich 3 times a week that is another 3 points, etc. So count the points you consume in one week in total from the list below:
At least 2 pieces of bacon
At least 1 piece of sausage
At least 1 hot dog
At least a couple of pieces of bologna or salami or mortadella or any type of lunch meat
At least a couple of pieces of ham or smoked turkey
At least few pieces of pepperoni
At least a couple of pieces of spam
At least a couple of pieces of corned beef
At least a couple of pieces of pastrami
At least a couple of pieces of prosciutto
At least a couple of pieces of roast beef
At least a couple of pieces of beef jerkies, biltong, meat sticks and other dried meat snacks.
Any type of cured meat
What is your total score?
If your total score is between:
0-2, you are doing well.
3-5 means that you are increasing the chance of getting pancreatic cancer by as much as 19%.
5-10 means that you are increasing the chance of getting pancreatic cancer by as much as 38%
11-15 means that you are increasing the chance of getting pancreatic cancer by as much as 57%
16+ means that you need to prepare your will!
The January 12 2012 issue of the British Journal of Cancer published a study done on any links between eating red and processed meats and cancer. For this particular study, researchers reviewed 11 other studies and case reports on more than 6,000 pancreatic cancer patients. The research showed that for every 50 grams of processed meat someone eats daily, the risk of getting pancreatic cancer increases by 19%.
Keep in mind that although pancreatic cancer rates in the overall population are low, pancreatic cancer has very poor survival rates. The reason is that pancreatic cancer is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and it kills 80% of patients in under a year from diagnoses. Only 5% live past 5 years. This is one of the worst survival rates.
This is in addition to a study that was published in the journal of Cancer in August of 2011 of 300,000 men and women that found that people who ate large amounts of processed meats had a 30% increased chances for bladder cancer.
So what might cause such an effect? It is believed that the preserving process is responsible for the higher cancer cases and deaths. It was found that such preservatives such as nitrites cause cancer. Additionally many are made with unhealthy trans-fats, saturated fats and large amounts of sodium and sugar. Although these links between these agents and cancer have been found by many scientific studies, processed meats with these ingredients in them have stayed on the market! Well that does not mean that you have to eat them!
