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CANCER PREVENTION LIMITING PROCESSED AND RED IN THE DIET

What is red ? Motivational Tip is minimally processed cuts of meat from animals such as , , , deer, lamb, mutton, horse, and goat. Red meat Moderation is key to a healthy lifestyle and eating pattern to is a complete protein and provides , B vitamins, zinc, and reduce your risk for chronic disease. Choose lean meats, fish, all essential nutrients. While red meat is a complete protein, you should moderate the amount you consume in your diet. and plant-based protein options as a part of a healthy diet. What are some alternative You may have heard that eating processed and red meats can protein options to red meat and increase your risk for . In this fact sheet we will briefly processed meats? review what the U.S. Dietary Guidelines and research says, and provide resources for you to learn more about the topic. Cuts of lean meat, such as skinless chicken or turkey breast; fish, such as salmon, , or white fish; nuts, such as almonds, wal- nuts, and peanuts; legumes (peas and beans); -free and low-fat What is cancer? dairy, such as skim milk and cottage cheese; and seeds are all good sources of protein that can be included as part of a healthy diet to The American Cancer Society says, “Cancer can start any place lower your risk of cancer. in the body. It starts when cells grow out of control and crowd out normal cells. This makes it hard for the body to work the way it should.” What does the U.S. Dietary Guidelines tell us about eating What are processed meats? meat? Processed meats are meats made from beef, pork, and that TheU.S. Dietary Guidelines states that lower intakes of meat, have been preserved by curing, , , drying, , including processed meats, have been identified as characteristics or fermenting. Examples of common processed meats include: of a healthy eating pattern and reduce the risk of cancer. Processed • • meats are also high in fat and sodium, which can raise the risk for • Hot dogs • other chronic diseases, like and diabetes, • • in addition to cancer. Include red and processed meats in moder- • • ation and select lean meat and a variety of protein foods as a part • Canned meat of a healthy diet. The guidelines recommend different amounts of protein in ounce-equivalents be consumed daily. These daily amounts differ based on a person’s age, gender, and calorie requirement for each day. Speak with your health care provider or a registered dietician to learn what would be recommended for you. Examine Your Choices Shopping Tips Food Source What I Buy What I Plan to Buy/Change • Choose fresh Protein foods Meat, fat-free and low-fat Red meat, chicken with Lean meat, skinless poultry, dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes the skin on, and bacon fish, nuts, seeds, and legumes • Look for lean cuts of meat • Look for skinless poultry

My Goal (what change will you make?):

What is 1 ounce-equivalent See the resources below for more information. American Cancer Society: Causes, Risk Factors, and of protein food? Prevention of www.cancer.org/cancer/ • 1 ounce of meat, poultry, or fish colon-rectal-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/prevention.html • ¼ cup of cooked beans Penn State Cancer Institute Colorectal Cancer Information • 1 egg www.pennstatehealth.org/services-treatments/colorectal-cancer • 1 tablespoon of peanut butter Pennsylvania Department of Health Colorectal Cancer Webpage • ½ ounce of nuts or seeds www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/Cancer/Pages/ Eat a variety of the above protein foods daily as part of Colorectal-Cancer.aspx Sources a healthy diet. “Bacon and Food Safety.” United States Department of Agriculture, October 29, 2013. https:// www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety- fact-sheets/meat-preparation/bacon-and-food-safety/ct_index. Bedale, W., J. J. Sindelar, and A. L. Milkowski. “Dietary Nitrate and : Benefits, Risks, and Why have you been hearing Evolving Perceptions.” Meat Sci. 120 (2016): 85–92. Butler, A. “ and Nitrates in the Human Diet: or Beneficial Hypotensive about meat and cancer in the Agents?” J Ethnopharmacol. 167 (2015): 105–7. “Cancer Screening Guidelines by Age.” American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/ healthy/find-cancer-early/cancer-screening-guidelines/screening-recommendations- news? by-age.html. Citroner, G. “Controversial Red Meat Study Under Scrutiny After Researcher Linked to Food In 2015 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; Industry.” Healthline, October 7, 2019. the cancer agency of the World Health Organization) reviewed Johnston, B. C., D. Zeraatkar, M. A. Han, et al. “Unprocessed Red Meat and Consumption: Dietary Guideline Recommendations from the Nutritional Recommendations existing research and showed a link between cancer deaths and (NutriRECS) Consortium.” Ann Intern Med (2019); Epub ahead of print 1 October 2019, doi: eating processed meats. Eating approximately 2 ounces (50 grams, 10.7326/M19-1621. Kolata, G. “Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice.” also equal to six strips of bacon or one ) of processed meat New York Times, October 4, 2019. “Limit Red and Processed Meat.” World Cancer Research Fund International. https://www each day raises a person’s risk of getting colorectal cancer by 18 .wcrf.org/dietandcancer/recommendations/limit-red-processed-meat. Accessed October percent. IARC reported that eating roughly 2 ounces of processed 19, 2019. Pennsylvania Department of Health. Cancer Dashboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from meat per day can be connected to 34,000 deaths per year. IARC https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/HealthStatistics/CancerStatistics/dashboard/Pages/ did not find that the consumption of red meat causes cancer, but Cancer-Dashboard.aspx. Simon, S. “What’s Wrong with Hot Dogs, , and Bacon?” June 25, 2018 it did find a possible relation between consuming a lot (more than https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/hot-dogs-hamburgers-bacon.html. Accessed 12 to 18 ounces in cooked weight) of red meat and colon cancer. January 22, 2021. Song, P., L. Wu, and W. Guan. “Dietary Nitrates, Nitrites, and Intake and the More research is needed in this area. Risk of Gastric Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.” Nutrients 7, no. 12 (2015): 9872–95. What does this mean for Pennsylvanians? In 2017 there were U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2020– 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/. January 2021. 6,579 new cases of colorectal cancer in Pennsylvania. That means Van Horn, L., et al. “Recommended Dietary Pattern to Achieve Adherence to the American that for every 100,000 people, 39 colorectal cancer cases were Heart Association/American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC) Guidelines: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association.” Circulation 134 (2016): e505–29. reported. Approximately one out of every 23 Pennsylvanians will “WHO Report Says Eating Processed Meat Is Carcinogenic: Understanding the Findings.” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, November 3, 2015. https://www.hsph.harvard develop colorectal cancer in their lifetime. There are many causes .edu/nutritionsource/2015/11/03/report-says-eating-processed-meat-is-carcinogenic- of colorectal cancer, but one way to decrease your risk is to limit understanding-the-findings/. Accessed August 29, 2018. World Health Organization. “Cancer: Carcinogenicity of the Consumption of Red Meat and or moderate your consumption of processed and red meats in Processed Meat.” October 26, 2015. https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/cancer- your diet. carcinogenicity-of-the-consumption-of-red-meat-and-processed-meat. Accessed January 22, 2021. The bottom line: Minimize the amount of processed meats Prepared by Stacy Reed, senior extension educator. Reviewed by Cindy Javor, extension educator, and (lunch meat, bacon, hot dogs, etc.) you eat and limit your intake Susan Veldheer of the Penn State Cancer Institute. of red meats. If you eat red meat, try lean cuts of meat and eat This information is brought to you as part of the Cancer Prevention in Pennsylvania Initiative, a smaller portions. Eating red and processed meats in moderation collaboration between Penn State Extension and the Penn State Cancer Institute. will not cause a major health risk if your overall diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and high-quality proteins like extension.psu.edu nuts, legumes (peas and beans), skinless poultry, fat-free and Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences research and extension programs are funded in part by low-fat dairy, seeds, and fish. Other ways to reduce your risk Pennsylvania counties, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Where trade names appear, no discrimination is intended, and no endorsement by the Penn State College of cancer are to get regular physical activity, avoid tobacco, and of Agricultural Sciences is implied. limit how much alcohol you drink. This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employ- ment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. © The Pennsylvania State University 2021 Code EE0441 1/21pod

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