Friday Jan 09, 2015 (foodconsumer.org) -- Consumption of red meat and dairy products have been linked to increased risk for various types of cancer.  It has been speculated that the risk is increased by high heme iron, certain carbohydrates like lactose or galactose, carcinogens induced during cooking and toxic preservatives such as nitrites found in processed meat and dairy products.

Research has now identified sialic acid in red meat and dairy products as another risk factor for cancer.

A study published in Sept, 2014 in PNAS confirmed early findings that long term exposure to sialic acid, also known as Neu5Gc (N-glycolylneuraminic acid), led to a five-fold increase in risk of cancer or carcinomas in mice that do not produce sialic acid.

The study led by Annie N Samraj and colleagues at Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Glycobiology Research and Training Center of the University of California in San Diego, California found that sialic acid promoted systemic inflammation, which is considered a major route to promote cancer growth.

Sialic acid is not found in plants, chicken and fish, but only in red meat and dairy. Studies have found sialic acid in tumors like breast cancer.  Humans do not produce this acid. (David Liu)