Th? rate ?f instances ?f diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer, autism, ?nd m?ny mo?? continues t? increase ?t ?n alarming rate. Sin?e w? fi?st began recording statistics ?n disease w? have seen ? skyrocketing upward trend wh??h has m?ny scientists ?n? researchers looking f?r answers, m?st notably towa?ds ?u? environment. W? are surrounded ?? toxins ?n ? daily basis, ?nd w? are ?ls? ingesting them constantly. Scientists have been examining th? m?n? common habits ?f modern humans, ?n? ?n? ?f th??e habits c???r?y includes eating ? tremendous amount ?f meat.

H?w Meat Fuels Tumor Growth

The association ?etw?en meat consumption ?nd diseases like cancer is n? secret. Ev?r s?nce researchers started studying th? links ??tw?en diet an? cancer, ?ne thing has stood o?t ?bov? th? rest: people wh? avoided eating meat were m?ch ?e?? ?ikel? t? develop cancer.(1)(2) Man? studies have shown th?t th?re is ? significantly decreased risk ?f cancer associated w?th veganism.(3)

The American Institute fo? Cancer Research (AICR) published th??r ?ec?n? review ?f th? major studies th?t have taken place w?th rega??s t? diet ?nd cancer prevention. They determined that, f?r multiple cancers, red meat (beef, pork, ?r lamb) ?? w??l a? processed meat consumption increases cancer risk. (4)

Studies have als? shown th?t specific chemicals formed wh?n meat is cooked (specifically HCAs ?n? PAHs) can ???o be linked t? cancer, ?n? wh?n I say "linked," I me?n th?r? is ? ?er???s ??us? fo? concern. Th??? is ? great deal ?f evidence t? support th? claim th?t high meat consumption leads t? cancer. On? ?u?h ?x?m??? involves ? r???nt case-control study conducted ?t th? University ?f Utah. Th? study included 952 subjects with rectal cancer an? 1205 controls, an? found th?t men ?nd women w?th the highest consumption ?f processed ?r well-cooked meat showed ?n increased risk f?? developing rectal cancer. (5)

Cooking meat produces (as mentioned above) wh?t are called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Th??? are widely believed t? play ? significant role ?n human cancers. (6) I find th?? t? be ?ne (out ?f many) remarkable examples ?f h?w th?r? is plenty ?f strong evidence, ?et mainstream medical literature considers th? link betw??n meat consumption ?nd cancer inconclusive.

Keep ?n mind, wh?n looking ?t th?? type ?f science it's important t? use th? Bradford Hill Criteria wh?n doing ??u? research.

In another study, researchers followed ?nd analyzed the diets ?f m?re th?n 525,000 participants t? determine wh?ther th?r? might be ? link ??tw??n th? consumption ?f fats fr?m red meat an? dairy, ?n? pancreatic cancer. Th?? found th?t th? m??e people ate th??e ???ti?ular fats, th? higher th? risk ?f pancreatic cancer. Interestingly, this ??m? study found n? association b?tween plant-food fat ?nd pancreatic cancer. (7)

The list goes ?n ?nd on. An?ther re?ent study published ?n th? British Journal ?f Cancer found that vegetarians are 12 percent le?s ?ik?ly t? develop cancer th?n meat-eaters overall. The? followed 61,000 meat-eaters ?n? vegetarians fo? o?e? 12 years, ?n? a??o discovered that cancers ?f th? blood, s??h ?? leukemia, multiple myeloma, an? non-Hodgkin lymphoma, were significantly ("drastically" ?? the? say ?n the study) reduced b? a? m??h ?s 45 percent f?? tho?e f?l??w?ng ? vegetarian diet. Although thi? study points t? ?n ove???? reduced risk, this may w?l? be ?n underestimate ?f the benefits ?f vegetarianism. Previous studies have shown a? much a? ? 40 percent reduced risk f?? a?l cancers. (8)

On th? flip side, on? could c?rt??n?y point ??t th? fact that man? people go th?i? who?e lives eating cooked meat ?n? live long healthy lives. Th?t might hold true fo? some, ?ut ?efinitely n?t all. N? on? can deny that cancer rates are pretty ridiculous today, an? ?t would be wise t? start t? take ? closer look ?t ?ur human experience. A?l ?f ?s need t? help turn things around, an? th?? is ?n? area ?f o?? lives th?t w? can easily control.

It's ?l?? noteworthy t? mention the fact that th? meat a?a?l?ble t? ?? today is laden with drugs ?n? other contaminants, ?n? th?t GMO feed is causing ? great deal ?f damage t? th? animals consuming it, ?nd u? ?n turn.

Th?re are plenty ?f studies t? choose from, though I am aware th?t studies do have the?? limitations. At th? s?m? time, think ?f th? Bradford Hill criteria – wh?n ??? have s? mu?h consistency ?nd ?? m?ny links, ?t is highly logical t? make c?rt??n conclusions.

Wh?n?ve? ??? have ?om? time t? think, whene?e? ??? pause fo? ? moment d???ng y?u? day, consider taking ? step b??k ?n? ???lly observing wh?t w? are doing t? ou? planet ?nd h?w w? rationalize it. Th?r? is much t? see, including, ?f course, th? fact that ?n enormous amount ?f people consume meat ?n ? daily basis. I don't m?an t? say th?t th?? is inherently wrong, o? t? lay judgement down, ??t m??e?y t? question wh? w? do th?? knowing it's detrimental t? ou? health an? t? the environment.

S?met?m?s bringing ?p topics like this can rub people the wrong way, ??t facts are facts; w? ????ent?? live ?n ? society wh??e s? m?n? people have closed th?i? minds t? n?w possibilities, n?w explanations, ?n? ?n man? cases, n?w evidence. F?r example, man? people ?ti?? believe that consuming meat ?n ? daily basis is ? completely natural, ?nd that th?o?ghout d?ffe?ent stages ?n ?u? evolution w? have ?lwa?s eaten meat. Th?? simply isn't true. In fact, m??t ?f ??? ancestors were completely vegetarian, ?n? the ?n?? th?t ate meat appear t? have had ? much higher percentage ?f plant food than meat ?n the?r diet. Pointing t? the "cave man diet" (a completely false idea) is n?t r???ly ? valid justification f?r eating meat, ?n? ?t doesn't m??n th?t w? are "designed" t? eat meat ?t all. Y?? can read m??e a??ut that, an? access specific studies a?o?t the "cave man diet" myth.

If ?o? are tru?? curious ?bo?t meat an? ?t? association w?th human disease, h???f??l? this article is ? good kick start f?r yo? t? start doing s?m? research ab?ut it.

Article sources:

(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8610089
(2) http://www.birdflubook.org/resources/Barnard_1995_PM_24_646.pdf
(3) http://www.pnas.org/content/105/48/18936.full.pdf+html
(4) http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/cancer_resource_center/downloads/summary/english.pdf
(5) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2001.tb06974.x/pdf
(6) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2001.tb06974.x/pdf
(7) http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2009/06/26/jnci.djp168.short
(8) http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v101/n1/full/6605098a.html