Last week the advice for avoiding cancer was to be thin, according to a study published by the World Cancer Research fund, and the American Institute for cancer research.This week the Centres for Disease Protection and Control Atlanta, in a paper published in the respected Journal of the American Medical Association, tell us that there is no correlation between carrying a few extra pounds (stress few, obese is not good), and cancer risk. Last week's study said the target Body Mass Index to aim for is 25, this week's says up to 30 is ok. Indeed the evidence here is that a bit of a bulge means a longer life. Hmmm.
As far as red meat eating and avoiding bacon butties like the plague is concerned, the Sun (about 3 million readers) comes out today in favour of a middle ground approach. It quotes Karol Sikora, professor of cancer Medicine at Imperial College School of Medicine and advisor to the World Health Organisation stressing that the risks of moderate meat eating are "very, very low". Even the head of the World Cancer Research Fund, Martin Wiseman, is back-pedalling on the bacon issue, saying "its not a question of all or nothing", and if you eat two bacon sandwiches a day now, then aim for one.
Looks like common sense and Granny's maxim of everything in moderation will win the day.
1 comment:
There are some very compelling positions that say all this supposed study and science has scared us away from the pure enjoyment of food. We think too much about what we can't eat, instead of what would taste good. As a result, our eating experience has become a clinical thing, which is a real shame.
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