Do Not Eat Cured Meats!

By Jaanu

Lexi is a lab manager at the cancer research facility where I work in my university. It is a hectic work environment, with a very interesting conglomeration of characters milling about, each with a handful of projects which keep them almost constantly preoccupied. Lexi is no exception, ruling her little territory of junior gastrointestinal cancer researchers with gentle firmness — an iron fist in a velvet glove. Lexi is pretty much the quintessential New Englander, which is why I was completely surprised to hear that she has an aversion to ham and cheese sandwiches.

She was quite firm on the matter. When doing the shopping for her household, she not only avoids buying ham, but also refuses to purchase salami, hot dogs, and bologna (no one in her family cares about the latter, but they do miss the occasional hot dog at a ballgame). Why?

Cured meats, including most deli meats and the meats listed above, are classified as Class 1 Carcinogens. Carcinogens are cancer-causing agents and are ranked on a list from Class 1, most dangerous, to Class 3, not classifiable. Class 1 agents are proven to strongly increase a person’s risk of developing cancer.

Some Class 1s are widely known to be carcinogenic, like smoking. The link between smoking and cancer is almost universally understood, thanks to dramatic studies comparing the histology of lung tissue in smokers and non-smokers and the massive case-control project orchestrated by British epidemiologists Richard Doll and Austin Hill in 1950. Ironically, they were studying rates of smoking in British doctors. In the 1950s, many people were still skeptical that smoking was harmful. It was an extraordinarily common practice that few were willing to accept as dangerous.

I assume society might be similarly skeptical of the “dangers” of meat. Processed meats are ubiquitous parts of the American diet. As a lifelong vegetarian, I can’t pretend to understand the appeal — but the popularity of bacon, ham, and other deli meats are indisputable in the school or university cafeteria. Cookouts are defined by the presence of hot dogs. All of these foods are known to be carcinogenic because of the use of nitrite and nitrate salt agents in the curing process to preserve these meats. The heat used in the curing process makes nitrites highly reactive with other substances. Heme/iron compounds in cured meats are also linked to cancer because, as a French study found in 2008, they can increase cell proliferation. The chemicals produced are linked to damage of the cells in the colon, which increases cancer risk over time. Does this mean you can’t eat meat ever again?

Not necessarily, but the American Institute of Cancer Research does recommend reducing one’s intake of processed meats. There are uncured meat alternatives at most grocery stores. Most meat is still processed because companies are loath to make expensive shifts to the curing process, which will also change flavor profiles. However, if eating cured meat increases colon cancer risk this dramatically, I believe it’s worth sacrificing comfort/cost for good health and educating loved ones. 🥄