Niki Bezzant: The thin red line

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COMMENT:

Just as we were about to head off for our Easter holidays – typically filled with roast lamb and red wine - some news broke that seemed designed to put a dampener on the party.

Another large piece of research has found that eating red and processed meat and drinking alcohol all increase our risk for colorectal (bowel) cancer – one of our biggest cancer killers in New Zealand.

The study of half a million UK residents – co-led by researchers at the University of Auckland – analysed the diets of the 2609 people of that group who developed colorectal cancer. The researchers found a strong association between red and processed meat intake and cancer risk. Those who ate an average of 76 grams of red and processed meat each day had a 20 per cent higher risk of the disease than those who ate just 21 grams per day. For every 50 grams of red meat people ate, their risk of colorectal cancer increased by 18 per cent. For processed meat (think ham, salami, cured meat) the increase in risk was 19 per cent for every 25 grams.

To put that in context: 25 grams of processed meat is about one rasher of bacon, or a slice of ham. Fifty grams of red meat is about one thick slice of roast meat, or the edible portion of a lamb cutlet. Seventy six grams of red meat is less than one small steak. Basically: not very much.

Not many people know that the official healthy eating guidelines in New Zealand already say we should eat around this amount – no more than 500g of cooked red meat a week. The guidelines also say to "limit" processed meat intake.

Do we do this, though? Officially, we don't really know, since it's more than 10 years since a survey of what we're eating has been done. There's anecdotal information suggesting we might be eating less red meat ... but that would be a guess. Anecdotally, I'd suggest there are also lots of people still happily munching through a lot more than 500g of red meat a week. Based on this research, our guidelines should probably go down even further.

The news on alcohol is not great, either. In this research, each 10 gram per day increment in alcohol intake (equivalent to about half a pint of 4.5 per cent alcohol beer) was associated with an 8 per cent greater risk of colorectal cancer. The risk was slightly lower with spirits and wine (but still there). This adds to a large body of research suggesting that for optimal health, those who don't drink are pretty smart.

I am being the fun police here, I know. So here's the good news: there was no association found between bowel cancer risk and fish, poultry, fruit, vegetables, tea, coffee or – rejoice – cheese.

And in further reinforcement that super-low-carb diets might not be the best idea, intake of fibre from bread and breakfast cereals was associated with a reduced risk for bowel cancer. So best have that small steak in a wholegrain sandwich.

• Niki Bezzant is editor-at-large for Healthy Food Guide; www.healthyfood.com