Here was my face when I saw the headlines this week about bacon and other processed meats being directly linked to cancer:
I mean, come on, could there be worse news? On the one hand, I can't say I'm surprised, because I tend to engage in a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" relationship with 90 percent of the meat I eat. I am a huge lover of bacon, sausage, hot dogs, kielbasa, bratwurst, and the list goes on. So basically, if you haven’t heard about this awful news, here’s a quick rundown.
via: BBC News
According to an article published by BBC News, the WHO (World Health Organization) has deemed processed meats as direct causes of cancer due to carcinogenic chemicals that can form during meat processing, often a result of cooking the meat on high temperatures. Processed meat is defined as any meat that has been modified to extend its shelf life or change the taste (adding salt, curing, smoking, etc). Although meat is not considered as dangerous for you as smoking or drinking alcohol, both of which are linked to cancer as well, it is still recommended to scale back consumption on a weekly basis.So basically, you have three options:
1. Do nothing.
Say f*ck it and eat all the bacon your heart desires. As my lovely roommate says, “I need to die happy, and if that’s by eating meat, I’m gonna do it.”
2. Cry as you modify your diet to cut out any cancer-causing meats while still allowing occasional indulgence.
3. Say f*ck it and go vegetarian, because there is no life without bacon, so you might as well give it all up.
News like this has me thinking, “Don’t they think everything causes cancer?” Indulge yourself in this list of possible cancer-links/everyday activities and products:
- —Alcohol
- —Tobacco
- —Tanning beds
- —Canned foods
- —Microwave popcorn
- —GMOS
- —Artificial sweetener
- —Red meat
- —Nonorganic fruits
- —Steaming hot tea
No seriously -- all of these have been linked to cancer at some point in the past.
While this news is pretty sad, cancer is no joke. For me, knowing that something I consume so often could possibly increase my chances of getting the horrible disease that cancer is, I will definitely be scaling back my processed meat consumption.
