Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexB
Might be worth a read Radii
Processed meats do cause cancer - WHO - BBC News
Overview is that sausages, ham, bacon etc are in their eyes definitely linked to cancer, and unprocessed red meats probably are.
Although immediate reaction is eating small amounts of each is unlikely to be an issue, and branding them carcinogenic is probably a step too far, as clearly not in same league as tobacco. No-one ever got cancer from sitting next to someone eating a rare steak  |
Yeah I've read that and read some discussions on it (which is virtually worthless, as everything about every individual study just gets attacked like crazy by people who may not like the results).
I don't smoke any meats I cook myself, and bacon is the only thing I eat that falls into the processed category, though I admittedly do quite enjoy my bacon.
Currently my feeling on that is really simple. This is the only way of eating that's ever worked for me, and its benefits due to reduced weight and reduction in insulin resistance outweight any possible negatives. So I'm absolutely content for now. I have a layman's understanding that there are cancer starving and cancer preventing benefits to eating a ketogenic diet, even if its done via lots of red meat, that make it a net positive overall. I have seen conversations in low carb forums settle on the idea that based on trying to aggregate all of the current research out there, a ketogenic diet that involves lots of red meat probably increases the likelyhood of some types of cancers and decreases others and overall decreases the likelyhood compared with the standard american diet. I can definitely admit that its a lot more straight forward when analyzing cancer research on vegetarian diets.
There are other options for me while still remaining ketogenic. There is actually a subset of folks who eat a vegetarian ketogenic diet. I suspect I will never be one of those people, but I do try to avoid saying "I would NEVER do that" and being overly resistant to something different. I could dramatically increase my intake of green veggies and lower my intake of meat and remain ketogenic. One thing I'll very likely do at some point is experiment with less saturated fat, which for me would basically mean lowering bacon intake and eating a lot of avocado, which would cut down/out my biggest source of processed stuff. I like experimenting at times within the ketogenic realm, but I've been trying to stick with what I know works lately since I spent too much of the summer off plan and stalled myself out a good bit.