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Red meat promotes bowel cancer, antioxidants cut the risk

02/26/2011 17:14:00 admin
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The British government  just issued new dietary guidelines recommending people cut back on their intake of red meat because it may increase risk of colorectal cancer or bowel cancer.

Red meat has also been associated with increased risk for other cancers like breast cancer, bladder cancer, stomach cancer and pancreas cancer.

This was the first time since 1998 the British government recommended people reduce intake of red meat to prevent cancer. 

Specifically, the guidelines say people should use no more than 500 grams or about 1 pound of red meat each week or about 70 grams or 2.5 ounces per day.

The recommended portion is not risk free, experts warn.  Ed Yong at Cancer Research U.K. was cited as saying there is no known safe level of red meat consumption. 

"There are no guarantees," he was quoted by Seattle Times as saying. "This is just about stacking the odds in your favor."

However, studies suggest food consumers may do something else to cut the risk from red meat.  Studies have suggested that eating lots of fruits and vegetables high in oxidants may reduce the risk.

Red meat includes beef, lamb and pork, all of which contain red pigments from the blood. Researchers have suspected what boosts the bowel cancer risk may be the red meat pigment known as myoglobin.

One study in the August 1, 2003 issue of Carcinogensis showed haemoglobin and haemin promote the development of bowel cancer or colorectal carcinogenesis.

Fabrice Pierre and colleagues from UMR INRA-ENVT Xénobiotiques in France and NIZO Food Research in The Netherlands did a feeding test in 10 groups of rats who were given an injection of azoxymethane to induce the aberrant crypt foci (ACF), which are linked to colon cancer.

At 100 days, fecal water was tested for thiobarbituric acid reactive substances or TBARs and cytotoxicity of fecal water and ACF were counted and measured.

The researchers found haemin significantly increased the ACF size in a dose-dependent manner from 2.6 to 11.4 crypts. It also increased TBARs and cytotoxicity of fecal water.

However, calcium, olive oil and antioxidants each prevented haemin from promoting the ACF and normalized the TBARs and cytotoxicity of fecal water.

Haemoglobin also increased the number of ACF and TBARS in fecal water, but not the ACF size or fecal cytotoxicity.

The researchers concluded that haemin and haemoglobin promote colorectal carcinogenesis and diets high in calcium and antioxidants may help reduce the myoglobin-induced risk for bowel cancer.

David Liu and editing by Aimee Keenan-Greene
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