Ewwww…processed meats (Photo credit: presleyfan)

New data come from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, involving 10 countries and almost half a million men and women, was published online in BMC Medicine in March 2013. This study concluded that high consumption of processed meat was associated with a near doubling of the risk of all-cause mortality, compared with low consumption, over a mean of 12 years. Risk of cardiovascular death was increased by more than 70% among people eating more than 160 g/day, as compared with those eating 10 to 19.9 g/day. Risk of cancer deaths was 43% higher among the highest consumers of processed meats. High processed-meat consumption was associated with an 18% greater risk of all-cause mortality. Interestingly, while an increased mortality was seen among the highest consumers of red meat in general, the risk for red meat was much lower than that of processed meats in this study.

Other studies have also singled out processed meats as hazardous to health. This is one of the largest studies and the results should be taken seriously.The take home message is pretty clear. Limit consumption of processed meat. Check your kitchen cupboards today. (more…)