General

Overcooked meat ups bladder cancer risk

Charring can form cancer-causing chemicals: experts

In a new study, researchers found that people who ate well-done meat were twice as likely to develop bladder cancer than those who preferred it rare. Based on over 1,700 people, the findings were presented at a US cancer research conference. The risk was highest for those who ate well-done red meat like steaks, pork chops and bacon, the University of Texas team found, but even fried chicken and fish upped the risk. Three major types of cancer-causing chemicals, called heterocyclic amines, raised the risk by more than two and a half. In the 12-year study, researchers looked at how people metabolized meat, and found that having certain genes made people almost five times as likely to develop bladder cancer if they ate a lot of red meat. “These results strongly support what we suspected – people who eat a lot of red meat, particularly well-done red meat, such as fried or barbecued, seem to have a higher likelihood of bladder cancer,” lead researcher Xifeng Wu told the American Association for Cancer Research.

BBC News

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.