End of October 2015. Among the most important international news agencies, the report of WHO about the correlation between processed meat and the onset of cancer. The powerful meat corporation (and in parallel, its derivatives) is under direct attacks: what looks incredible, this attack does not come from the “usual, eccentric vegan nutritionists” but, au contraire, from the IARC, International Agency for Reserch on Cancer, the maximum global organization for the study of cancer, composed by 300 researchers, active in 50 Nations.
IARC analysed the results of 800 scientific studies regarding red meat and red processed meat’s effects. Red meat is beef, veal, pork, horse, donkey, lamb, mutton, goat. Red processed meat is all those undergo the smoking and/or salting process, adding spices and preservatives… i.e. all the proceedings used to favour storage and to increase the flavour. Examples of the latter are salami, ham, mortadella, sausages, hot dogs and any other cured meats consists of red and processed meat. Conclusions of these studies are that red processed meat has to be considered as substances provoking colorectal cancer: these types of meat have been inserted in “Group 1” of carcinogenic substances (i.e. certainly provoking cancer in human beings) jointly cigarette smoke for lung cancer or UV radiation for skin cancer: according to IARC only 50 grams of red processed meat per day (three slices of ham) increase by 18% the chance of getting cancer. Red meat (but not processed) have been inserted in “Groups 2A”, that is substances probably carcinogenic, but with insufficient data to insert it in the class immediately following: this means that red meat has to be considered paying extreme attention.
Undoubtedly, eliminate this food from the diet is the best choice: even in little amount, who would ever recommend to smoke cigarettes? The reasoning in the same for red processed meat.
The vegan diet benefits are known and widely recognized: vegetal food contains vitamins, fibres, polyphenols, phytoestrogens, lycopene, isothiocyanates and other substances that have a positive and anti-tumour effect.
Trying to defend the consumption of cured meats, appealing to the good quality of some products or relegating the cause of cancer to the cook of the red meat, is absurd: among the substances provoking cancer there are heme iron, typical iron of the meat, saturated fats, the protein of the meat themselves and the nitrosamines (HAA and PAH).
Not only this WHO study states the carcinogenic effects of these foods: already in the period between 1974 and 1988, the Adventist Health Study 1, a study realized by Loma Linda University, demonstrates how five simple health behaviors promoted by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for more than 100 years (such as: not smoking, a plant based diet, eating nuts several times per week, regular exercise and maintaining the normal weight) increase life span up to 10 years. A following study, Adventist Health Study 2, began in 2002 concluded that vegetarian diets are associated with lower all-cause mortality and with some reductions in cause-specific mortality. The EPIC-Oxford Study suggests that vegetarians and vegans follow diets that generally correspond well with guidelines for healthy eating and confer benefits in terms of avoiding overweight/obesity and high blood pressure. These benefits will translate into lower mortality and morbidity.
Vegan diets are absolutely adequate for every single person in the world, but it is important to remember that, mostly in certain phases of life, such as babyhood, pregnancy, menopause, old age… it is essential that the diet is accurately programmed and regularly evaluated by a qualified nutritionist, in order to avoid the main problems, as deficit in vitamin B12 or omega 3.

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