With the lifelong meat-eating habit that most of us have, it may be hard to consider becoming a vegetarian. Those who eat no meat are still a very small number of Americans, just over 3 percent, according to estimates. But more and more people are leaning toward eating less meat – undoubtedly because of the life-threatening health risks associated with it: an increased likelihood of heart disease and colon cancer. And now, there’s a new study that might strengthen your resolve to change your ways. It turns out people who eat lots of red meat increase their risk of kidney cancer.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, MD, found that middle-aged adults who ate the most red meat were 19 percent more likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer than those who ate the least.
Experts analyzed data from a study of close to 500,000 U.S. adults, age 50 and older, who were surveyed on their dietary habits, including meat consumption, and then followed for an average of nine years to track any new cancer diagnoses.
On average, men in the study ate two or three ounces of red meat per day, compared to one or two ounces among women. Participants with the highest consumption of red meat—about four ounces per day—were 19 percent more likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer than those who ate the smallest amount, less than one ounce per day.
