New Studies: Bacon May Cause Cancer
If you're like us, you enjoy a lot of bacon in your household. Now, we should all beware the findings of some new research from the United Kingdom.
The majority of bacon products sold in grocery stores contain a preservative called nitrites, which contains a cancer-causing agent. This contention emerged from studies in Belfast, Northern Ireland and a coalition of experts and activists gathering recently in the UK. Cancers of the bowels and other colo-rectal cancers appear to be on the rise for regular consumers of bacon, ham and other processed meats.
This latest information is added to other warnings issued by the World Health Organization, along with studies at Glasgow University in Scotland and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland which noted increases in breast cancer and mental health problems among consumers of nitrite-infused meats.
Nitrites not only preserve meat for prolonged periods, but give meats such as bacon and ham an attractive pinkish hue that consumers prefer.
Experts claim the dangers of nitrites are being minimized in the same way the hazards of tobacco usage were at one time downplayed.
Some local farms have eliminated nitrites from the natural meats they process and sell.