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Eating Meat And Human Food

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“Eat your meat, it’s good for you” is a phrase most of us will have heard growing up. From a young age we are taught that meat is an essential part of the human diet and that if you do not eat it, you will be weak and nutrient deficient. This idea is reinforced all throughout society by family, schools, nutritionists, the media and more. Of course, meat does provide humans with many essential nutrients and minerals, but, what if I was tell you that medical science tells us that meat consumption is a major cause of some of the world’s biggest health issues, including cancer and diabetes and that cutting down the amount of meat we eat may help reduce the prevalence of such issues. In October 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released findings of a comprehensive study which they done. Their research found that there is a definite link between the consumption of processed meats, such as bacon, hot dogs and deli meats and the increased risk of colorectal (colon) cancer, which happens to be a leading cause of death in New Zealand. In fact, it was discovered that eating a 50-gram serving of processed meats every day, an amount which many people exceed, increases the risk of cancer in the colon by 18%. They also believe there is sufficient evidence linking meat consumption with pancreatic and prostate cancer. They also classified meat as a Group 1 carcinogen, the same category as tobacco smoking and asbestos, meaning there is a huge level of scientific

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