00:00Processed foods are increasingly under more and more of a spotlight,
00:03specifically with regards to their effects on our health.
00:06Now, experts weigh in on processed meats and which ones are the worst for us,
00:10as the World Health Organization says those very foods cause cancer.
00:14Dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition,
00:17Kirsten Petruzzi, tells USA Today,
00:19processed foods include more types of meats than you might imagine.
00:22While any meat with chemical additives is certainly processed,
00:25by definition, it also includes any that have been fermented, cured, or smoked to increase shelf life or flavor.
00:31Dr. Donald Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic also told USA Today that since red meat is already worse for you than, say, chicken or fish,
00:38processed red meats could pose a greater health risk as well.
00:41And all this lines up with an analysis by the International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group from 2015,
00:47which looked at 800 independent studies related to processed meats from around the globe.
00:51In particular, their findings suggested an increased risk for colorectal and stomach cancer,
00:56and that the more processed meats consumed, the higher the probability those cancers became.
01:00But the question remains, why does it increase those risks?
01:03Experts say that in the same way smoke can cause cancer in lungs,
01:07smoke preservation methods can do the same to the digestive tract.
01:10In addition, preservation chemicals such as nitrates and nitrites are often used in processed meats.
01:15Compounds more recent studies have shown can increase not just digestive tract issues,
01:19but also increase the chances of breast and prostate cancers as well.
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