Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 106 posts

Re: WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

#11

Post by pavel_lishin »

illumen wrote: post #10
TillE wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep seeing this ridiculous (if jokey) strawman, but it makes no sense. Processed meat has been a known risk for a long time. Need a list? http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-p...

I agree. It's a legitimate concern though. People are bombarded with what is healthy or not. With fad diets and such. Who do you believe? ED: oops... I should learn to read good. It says _avoid_ processed meats. I think it would be clearer to leave stuff off the plate which we are supposed to leave off our plate.

> ps. Lol. That page lists processed meats.

Yes, as a thing to avoid:

Limit red meat, and avoid processed meats such as bacon and sausage.

Re: WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

#12

Post by [deleted] »

illumen wrote: post #10
TillE wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep seeing this ridiculous (if jokey) strawman, but it makes no sense. Processed meat has been a known risk for a long time. Need a list? http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-p...

I agree. It's a legitimate concern though. People are bombarded with what is healthy or not. With fad diets and such. Who do you believe? ED: oops... I should learn to read good. It says _avoid_ processed meats. I think it would be clearer to leave stuff off the plate which we are supposed to leave off our plate.

[deleted]

Re: WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

#13

Post by hugozap »

illumen wrote: post #10
TillE wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep seeing this ridiculous (if jokey) strawman, but it makes no sense. Processed meat has been a known risk for a long time. Need a list? http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-p...

I agree. It's a legitimate concern though. People are bombarded with what is healthy or not. With fad diets and such. Who do you believe? ED: oops... I should learn to read good. It says _avoid_ processed meats. I think it would be clearer to leave stuff off the plate which we are supposed to leave off our plate.

Check again. It says "avoid processed meats"

Re: WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

#14

Post by mathgeek »

Anyone have a good source for articles that eschew the political commentary in favor of just presenting the study findings in a concise summary?

Does anyone actually care that the global lobbyists for meat don't agree that meat is a carcinogen (or that any lobbyists against meat would care that it is)?

Re: WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

#15

Post by pavel_lishin »

csours wrote: post #7

I wonder where roasted marshmallows rank?

Well, apparently wood fires aren't great for you, so unless you're roasting it over a gas flame, probably fairly high: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-fireplace-delusion

Re: WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

#17

Post by just_curioussss »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #9

" and if you are a hairdresser or do shift work (both class 2A), you should seek a new career. " This line at the end of the article irked me. A friend of mine who was a hair stylist for 20 years is dying of brain cancer and her doctor's are pretty sure her exposure to chemicals on a daily basis had a role in her cancer. While I understand the comment's attempt at humor, the risk these people have with their exposure…

Never though about it that way. There are many other jobs that expose their workers to airborne chemicals. One that comes to mind immediately is anything near urban traffic.

Could society adapt for those workers to start wearing masks or similar protection. Doctors do that all the time, why not hairdressers?

Re: WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

#18

Post by mrdrozdov »

I guess this is important since we might start seeing class action law suits citing processed meats as a cause of cancer? The question is can you tell that the type of cancer was causing by the consumption of processed meat? When tobacco or asbestos is the cause, it seems to be fairly easy to tell what was the cause of cancer. Will we see warning labels pop up on our meat products?

Re: WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

#19

Post by pilsetnieks »

0xcde4c3db wrote: post #6

This seems pretty misleading. The WHO put these meats in the same class in terms of certainty of being a carcinogen in humans, but I don't see any claim about the rates of cancer caused by each being comparable. That is, they're convinced that it causes some nonzero amount of cancer, but how many cancers it causes is a separate issue. Also, the picture at the top shows a cheeseburger, but ground beef is never actuall…

Maybe it's the Guardian's fault. The BBC article (http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34620617) does mention some numbers:

> Is meat as bad as smoking?

> No.

> Estimates suggest 34,000 deaths from cancer every year could be down to diets high in processed meat.

> That is in contrast to one million deaths from cancer caused by smoking and 600,000 attributed to alcohol each year.

Re: WHO says processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes

#20

Post by goatforce5 »

csours wrote: post #7

I wonder where roasted marshmallows rank?

Dr Karl (hugely respected media personality scientist guy from Australia) likes to point out that candles are bad for your lungs, but on the other hand they can be relaxing and peaceful so it's kinda six of one, half dozen of the other.

And as he also is fond of saying: "everything is a poison... what matters is the dose."

Post reply on HN