LatinaLista — Last October, the World Health Organization (WHO) had bacon lovers “squealing” when they declared that bacon, hot dogs and other processed meats caused cancer. Now, a new study has been released saying there’s evidence that bacon, sausage and processed meats trigger breast cancer — not in white women — but Latinas.
Dr. Mariana Stern, lead author of the study, also served on the panel who made the original meat warning recommendation to WHO.
“The group was on the fence about concluding that processed meat intake may cause breast cancer and ultimately decided not to make that edict based on insufficient data from studies,” Stern said. “Now a new study shows there is an association between processed meat and breast cancer for one understudied population. In light of the WHO report, this discovery could be a wake-up call about the negative health effects associated with consuming processed meat such as bacon, beef jerky and lunch meats.”
The study had over 7,000 female participants, who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, ranging in age from 25-79. Using questionnaires, bilingual interviewers recorded what the women ate and what they found was that Latinas who ate 20 grams of processed meat a day (the equivalent of a strip of bacon) were 42 percent more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer compared to Latinas who ate little or no processed meats.
But why is the disparity so great between Latinas and white women?
According to researchers, it has to do with when Latinas are relishing the crunchy taste of bacon.
Researchers feel that diet in a Latina’s adolescent years may play a bigger role in determining if bacon causes breast cancer. Doctors know that breast tissue development happens during the adolescent years. Couple that body-change development with not eating the most balanced of diets and it could spell trouble later on in life.
