Ahead of the long weekend in May, a large crowd will be waiting idly for beer and chicken. But according to a study, eating poultry (duck, chicken) frequently, particularly chicken, can raise your risk of stomach cancer and early death.
According to a report published in the New York Post, a research team from the Italian National Institute of Gastroenterology examined the health data of 4,869 people living in southeast Italy for 19 years. The team’s findings showed that eating too much poultry can raise the risk of early death and some types of gastric cancer. Based on the participants’ eating habits and health conditions, the research team analyzed a study published in Nutrients.
The study found that white meat accounted for roughly 41% of weekly meat intake, while poultry made up 29% for the 1,028 participants who passed away. The risk of death was 27% higher for those who consumed over 300g per week compared to those who consumed less than 100g. In men, this risk was especially noticeable; the likelihood of dying from digestive cancer was more than doubled for men who ate more than 300g of poultry per week.
According to the research team, eating more poultry may increase your risk of developing cancer due to the cooking methods used. Long-term high-temperature cooking of chicken can produce mutagenic compounds such as N-nitroso compounds (NOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heterocyclic amines (HCAs). Thus, avoiding high-temperature cooking techniques like grilling over charcoal or frying in oil is crucial.
The researchers advised that when consuming poultry, it is important to control both the amount and frequency, and to maintain a balanced diet by incorporating other protein sources such as fish. They did, however, emphasize that more investigation is required to ascertain whether this study’s findings were caused by poultry consumption or other factors. For example, they added that how the poultry is cooked may be an important variable, and the lack of information on physical activity, such as the amount of exercise, may limit the accuracy of the research results.
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