Eating Meat Poses Serious Health Risks

By Reducing The Consumption Of Animal Products We Boost Our Body’s Natural Cancer Defences.
In 2006, the effects of a healthy diet (plant-based) and lifestyle (walking every day) on tumour cell growth and apoptosis in vitro were tested.
Researchers found that within only 2 weeks of healthy living, participants blood samples were able to suppress cancer growth and kill 20%-30% more malignant cells than blood samples taken prior to the diet/lifestyle change.
It was concluded that the cancer suppression effect could be attributed to decreased levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) due to reduced intake of animal protein.
IGF-1 is a hormone crucial for cell growth, and the more IGF-1 presents in the blood stream, the higher ones risk for cancer development.
Therefore, it is hypothesised that by reducing animal intake, we reduce IGF-1 and boost our body’s natural cancer defences.
In 2002, Ngo and colleagues found that after 11 days of reducing animal protein consumption, levels of circulating IGF-1 dropped by 20%, whereas levels of the cancer protective IGF-1 binding protein increased by 50%.
In terms of how much the intake of animal proteins must be reduced in order to obtain these protective effects, it is only those following a fully plant-based (vegan) diet that experience cancer protection due to decreased growth hormone and increased binding protein levels.
Vegetarians who consume eggs and dairy do not have the same protective effect, because all animal proteins stimulate the production of IGF-1, regardless of if the source is from the muscle, eggs, or dairy.

Another substance besides IGF-1 that is found in animal products and contributes to cancer risk is heterocyclic amines (HCAs).
Since an original paper in 1939, it has been found that cancer producing substances are present in animal products cooked in various forms at high temperatures (roasting, pan-frying, grilling, baking).
HCAs are described by the National Cancer Institute as “chemicals found when muscle in meat, including beef, pork, fish, and poultry, is cooked using high-temperature methods”.
HCAs are formed when these high temperatures promote chemical reactions between components of muscle tissue, compounds that are lacking in plants and thus cooked veggie burgers/products do not contain measurable amounts of HCAs.
The longer the meat is cooked, the more HCAs produced, and results show that well-done meat is associated with increased risk of breast, colon, esophagus, pancreas, prostate and stomach cancer.
This however, does not mean that less cooking time doesn’t produce HCAs, and even baking chicken for 15 minutes at 350 degrees leads to the production of measurable amounts that lead to DNA damage and thus an increased risk for cancer development.
A number of studies, including the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project and the Iowa Women’s Health Study have demonstrated significant correlation between women eating more cooked meats and higher odds of developing breast cancer.
The Long Island study saw a 47% increased odds in women who ate more grilled, barbecue, or smoked meat across their lifetime, and the Iowa study saw a 5-fold increased odds of cancer occurrence in women who ate their meat “well-done”.
Studies have also shown a link between the amount of DNA damage in the breast tissue and fried meat consumption.
( Mariah Madigan and Elisa Karhu, 07.11.2018 )  ..  oaepublish.com

The Single Biggest Way To Reduce Our Impact On Earth.
The word ‘veganism’ first came about in 1944, when teacher Donald Watson founded The Vegan Society in Leicester.
It’s a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
It’s no longer disputed that eating less meat is better for the planet.
Animal agriculture is the leading cause of environmental destruction, species extinction, ocean dead zones and water pollution, yet we do little to counter it.
Studies prove that swapping to a vegan diet is the single biggest way to reduce our impact on earth.
Critics of veganism frequently argue that soya is unsustainable, yet only 6% of all soya is used for human consumption.
The overwhelming majority is used for animal feed.
Countless studies link major diseases like cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes to the consumption of animal protein.
Switching to a plant-based diet has been proven to prevent, treat and even reverse heart disease and type two diabetes.
The health benefits of a plant-based diet have never been clearer.
Tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, F1’s Lewis Hamilton, boxer David Haye and many other elite athletes have all cited their vegan diet as reasons for their success, claiming they feel stronger and faster and their recovery is quicker.
( Selene Nelson )

If you knew how meat was raised, you wouldn’t eat it.
( Justin Timberlake )

8-Year Study Found That Eating Chicken Increases The Risk Of Cancer.
Britons consume around 1.3 billion chickens every year and has widely been regarded as a healthy alternative to red meat.
But Oxford University researchers have found that eating chicken is positively associated with a higher risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, an increased chance of prostate cancer in men, and malignant melanoma.
Researchers tracked 475,000 middle-aged Britons from 2006 to 2014, analysing their diet and the diseases they developed.
The study also found that bacon and sausages fuel cancer twice as much as previously thought.
Just 25g of processed meat daily, equal to one rasher or 2/3 of a sausage, raises the risk of bowel tumours by 20%.
( Rose Winfold )

Going meat-free can make a huge difference.
Studies show that vegetarians are, on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters and that a vegetarian diet reduces our risk of heart disease by 40% and adds seven or more years to our lifespan.
( Ingrid Newkirk )

Eating Any Meat Poses Serious Health Risks.
The World Health Organisation declared processed meat a ‘carcinogen’ that increases the risk of colon or rectum cancer by 18%.
But it’s not just processed meat that poses a health risk.
Science has known for a while that eating all kinds of animals, including white meat, is unhealthy.
Eating any meat, hormone-free or not, poses serious long-term risks to our health.
A vast array of studies from top universities and independent researchers has found that eating chickens, cows, pigs and other animals promotes cancer in many forms.
Large studies in England and Germany showed that vegetarians were about 40% less likely to develop cancer compared to meat-eaters, the most common forms being breast, prostate, and colon cancers.
A 2014 Harvard study found that just one serving a day of red meat during adolescence was associated with a 22% higher risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer and that the same red meat consumption in adulthood was associated with a 13% higher risk of breast cancer overall.
( Len Firswood, 11.11.2015 )

We need protein, not meat.
We need calcium, not milk.
We need omegas, not fish.
We need nutrients, not the life of an animal.
All of which can be found in a plant-based diet.

Eating Meat Is Killing People.
A “meat tax” could prevent almost 6,000 deaths per year in the UK, according to researchers.
Scientists at the University of Oxford say governments should consider imposing price hikes on red meat – such as beef, lamb and pork – to reduce consumption.
They say it would save lives and more than £700million in UK healthcare costs, according to new research.
Various research has linked eating red meat to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Researchers at the University of Oxford said meat eaters were also increasing the burden on the health service and the economy, due to a loss of workforce from ill health.
There is also a growing awareness of the environmental impact of eating red meat, with high levels of land and water use and carbon emissions associated with its production.
( BBC News, 07.11.2018 )

Next to skin cancer, the most common cancer among American women is breast cancer.
Each year an estimated 250,000 are diagnosed (in addition to 2,500 cases in men), and 40,000 women as well as 460 men die from it.
Typically, imaging and early detection is emphasised in order to improve survival.
However, early detection and screening does not prevent breast cancer, it simply picks up disease that already exists.
Furthermore, modern imaging isn’t good enough to detect cancer’s earliest stages, thus what has come to be described by the medical community as “early detection”, is unfortunately actually “late detection”.
For example, a breast cancer tumour must be the size of about 2 billion cells (30 doublings) in order to get picked up by a mammogram.
The main factor that determines doubling time, and thus the timing of when someone gets diagnosed with cancer, can range from 25 days to over a thousand days.
This means that someone could be diagnosed anywhere between 2 and 100 years, and a primary determination as to where an individual falls on that timeline, may depend on what they eat.
Based on autopsy studies, as many as 39% of women in their 40’s already have developed breast cancers that may simply be too small to detect by mammograms.
Breast cancers may even begin developing in utero due to a mother’s diet.
Thus, waiting until diagnosis to start eating and living healthier, might be too late.
Therefore, perhaps we should be living as if we already have the beginnings of disease in our bodies, because a diet and lifestyle of prevention may also be one of treatment for the potential occult diseases that we cannot yet see.
( Mariah Madigan and Elisa Karhu, 07.11.2018 )  ..  oaepublish.com

Most parents will do almost anything for their children.
Except, it seems, replacing burgers and junk food with tasty plant-based alternatives, so their children will have a healthy life and a planet to live on after them.
( Rose Winfold )

Consuming Meat And Dairy May Cause Impotence.
Meat, eggs, and dairy products slow the flow of blood to all the body’s organs, and not just the heart.
Originally, it was thought that impotence was caused only by anxiety, but according to the Erectile Dysfunction Institute, up to 90% of all cases of impotence are actually physical as opposed to psychological, meaning the high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, prostate cancer or inflammations, and hormonal imbalances that eating meat causes might also contribute to impotence.
Numerous physicians and nutritionists agree that the best way to prevent artery blockage as well as multiple other conditions that cause impotence is to eat a diet high in fibre, including plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
( Rachel Krantz, 15.02.2016 )

You’re not lactose intolerant, you’re just not a baby cow.

A Row Between The Health Secretary And A Scientist.
The most bizarre row of the summer has been between Jeremy Hunt and Stephen Hawking over the NHS, with the Health Secretary accusing the professor of peddling a “pernicious falsehood” for saying the Tory cherry-picks his statistical data.
It’s so hard to guess which one has got the maths right.
Is it the esteemed quantum physicist who is widely hailed as one of the most brilliant scientists Britain has ever produced?
Or the gormless-looking, privatising stooge, who was once described to me by a well-known writer who met him while Culture Secretary as: “Without doubt, the thickest man in a suit that I’ve ever had a conservation with. There is nothing going on behind the eyes. It’s like trying to get through to a mollusc in a coma.”
Tough call.
( Brian Reade, 02.09.2017 )

Factory Farms Are Harmful To Both Animals And Humans.
Since 2010, the UK Government have been quietly introducing American-style factory farms.
The number of large-scale, intensive farms with upwards of 40,000 chickens or 2,000 pigs is increasing, driven by demand for cheap meat.
Figures reveal that the number of large industrial-sized pig and chicken farms in the UK continues to rise, with around 1,800 across the country.
In 2017, the then Environment Secretary Michael Gove told MPs: “One thing is clear. I do not want to see, and we will not have, US-style farming in this country.”
Animal welfare charities say 70% of UK farm animals, more than 1 billion animals every year, are now kept in intensive indoor units.
Intensive pig and poultry farms have been linked to local biodiversity damage from ammonia emissions and to detrimental impacts on local communities including noise pollution, increased traffic, and potentially harmful bacteria, viruses and air pollutants.
Just imagine the body waste alone that has to be disposed of from these cruel, houses of horror.
The rivers, the streams, the lakes, and even the soil is polluted.
This in turn severely affects wild animals and plant life.
Nearly all viruses and diseases that are harmful or life-threatening to humans can be traced back to humans unnaturally interacting, exploiting and consuming animals.
( Rose Winfold )

Inequality In Money Spent On Children’s Mental Health.
A postcard lottery in children’s mental health means the NHS spends £136 per head in top areas and £10 in the worst.
Staff have branded the inequality “unjustifiable” amid fears cash allocated for such child and adolescent services is not reaching the front line.
Theresa May had promised “record levels” spent on mental health services.
Royal College of Psychiatrists data, in the Health Service Journal, shows Tameside and Glossop had the lowest spending per head at £9.69 per child to the age of 17, while South Tyneside spent £136.32.
( Martin Bagot, 23.09.2017 )

Cow’s Milk Increases The Levels Of Female Hormones In Men.
Men worry about the estrogen in milk since estrogen is associated with being a predominantly female hormone.
The estrogen in milk from cows can affect the blood estrogen levels in men and cause them to increase.
The growth hormones in cow’s milk may also be of concern since research confirms they increase risk of prostate cancer in men.
There is a myth that cows naturally produce milk on their own.
Like humans, female cows produce milk as a result of becoming pregnant with a baby cow.
Also like humans, pregnant cows have higher levels of estrogen than non-pregnant cows.
Some researchers are concerned with the consumption of milk, especially in men and children, from pregnant cows that have been genetically improved to lactate more.
A study in February 2010 found that commercial cow’s milk contains large amounts of estrogen and progesterone, which are two sex hormones.
The study found that the female sex hormones significantly increased while the male sex hormones decreased in men following the consumption of cow’s milk.
Estrogen levels increased significantly in all participants, men, women and children.
The study also suggested that the sexual maturation of prepubertal children could be affected by the regular intake of cow’s milk.
This is due to the suppressing effect of estrogen in milk on gonadotropin, which are hormones that increase the production of sex hormones needed for puberty.
( Rose Winfold )

Shockingly High Sugar Content.
After presenting BBC1’s The Truth About Sugar a couple of years ago, one of the findings that stuck with me was that some bags of Haribos contained up to 39 teaspoons of sugar – yes, that’s right, THIRTY-NINE teaspoons.
I notice its latest ad campaign promoting a 30% sugar reduction claims “less sugar, same great taste”.
Basically, not so much sugar, but still 26 teaspoons of the sweet stuff per bag.
That’s TWENTY teaspoons more than the recommended maximum daily allowance.
( Fiona Phillips, 28.04.2018 ) 

Go Vegan And Nobody Gets Hurt.
The vegan movement supports both non-human and human animals and helps them to live better lives.
The term vegan refers to those who choose not to support the humiliation, exploitation, torture and killing of innocent animals.
One doesn’t eat leather, or ingest duck down or consume wool.
You can’t munch on a circus or chow down on a zoo.
It’s also notoriously difficult to scoff a horse race.
Sadly, animal abuse doesn’t end with eating them.
As for those who say they won’t go vegan because they don’t want to eat processed foods, my jaw drops every time I hear that one.
Do they have no idea how much processing meat, milk and egg products go through before they reach the supermarket shelves?
Some seem to imagine that a burger made from plants is ‘unnatural’ where as one made from a cow’s butt couldn’t be more pure.
What utter nonsense.
They seem to dismiss the antibiotics that are pumped into animals reared for meat, the hormones that rage inside two thirds of dairy cows at any one time (because they’re pregnant) and therefore make it into the milk humans consume, the colouring that is added to salmon to make it look pink, the water injected into chickens to make them heavier (as they’re sold by weight), and don’t even get me started on bacon.
Health and veganism are connected, in that having a whole foods, plant based diet (along with regular exercise and mindfulness) is your best chance of leading a long and healthy life.
However, veganism is an ethical choice and non-human animals must be at the centre of it.
Go vegan and nobody gets hurt.
( Tofu Temptress, 18.09.2017 )

Tory Government Failure To Properly Fund The NHS.
More than 250,000 patients waited at least 12 hours in A&E last year (2017) – up 72,000 in 12 months.
The grim data sparked a fresh demand for more funding just two weeks after 60,000 “save the NHS” protestors marched on No10 Downing Street.
Unite national officer for health Sarah Carpenter said: “These figures are truly dire and are a searing indictment of the austerity-obsessed Tory failure to properly fund the NHS since 2010.
“Patients are waiting for hours on trollies or in ambulances with anxious families in despair”
And she warned dedicated paramedics were at “breaking point”.
A total of 257,028 patients waited 12 hours or more in hospitals from 2016 to 2017, NHS Digital statistics show.
That is 39% up on the 185,000 in 2015-2016.
( Alan Selby and Martyn Halle, 18.02.2018 )

Our Diet Remains The Number-One Cause Of Premature Death.
In the United States and many other industrialised countries, the main causes of death are preventable.
In particular, our diet remains the number-one cause of premature death and the number-one cause of disability.
Populations consuming diets of mostly plant-based foods have been characterised by a marked reduction in mortality and age-adjusted incidence of many cancers common in Western society.
These cancers include breast, prostate, colon, pancreas, ovary, and uterine endometrium cancers.
However, this phenomenon is becoming less prominent as the Westernised diet and lifestyle spread throughout the world.
Reports by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization implicate red and processed meats as important carcinogens.
In contrast, other nutritional aspects such as high intake of fiber, fruits and vegetables have a protective effect on cancer.
While the importance of plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes as sources of nutrients is generally accepted, utilisation of diet for prevention and management of disease is still uncommon.
This is despite the fact that multiple observational and experimental research studies have demonstrated a significant protective effect of plant-based diets against the incidence of cancer as well as many other disease conditions including the 15 leading causes of death in the western world.
A recent comprehensive meta-analysis reported a significant protective effect of a vegetarian diet vs. the incidence from total cancer (-8%) while a vegan diet conferred a significant reduced risk (-15%) of incidence from total cancer.
( Mariah Madigan and Elisa Karhu, 07.11.2018 )  ..  oaepublish.com

Painkillers Taken During Pregnancy May Harm Fertility Of The Unborn Child.
Mothers-to-be who take painkillers during pregnancy could harm the fertility of their unborn child, a study finds.
Paracetamol and ibuprofen reduce the number of cells which later become eggs or sperm in babies, according to research published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Painkillers may also affect the fertility of future generations by triggering changes in the structure of DNA which can be inherited, it adds.
Tissue samples of ovaries exposed to paracetamol for one week had more than 40% fewer egg-producing cells, the research found, and after ibuprofen exposure the number of cells was almost halved.
As girls produce all their eggs in the womb, those born with a reduced number of cells could experience an early menopause.
Testicular tissues exposed to paracetamol or ibuprofen in a culture dish had around a quarter fewer sperm-producing cells.
( Sally Wardle, 16.04.2018 )