031826 ~ Kids to Eat with Intention, Not Distraction - Shanthi Appelo

the hidden costs of convenience, those ultra-process meats? Not good. And today we're going to talk about why.

It is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and this is the topic on our A healthier

Michigan from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Shanti Opelow is a registered

dietitian and health and wellness spokesperson with Blue Cross. What classification has the

World Health Organization given ultra-processed meats? Yeah, so it's been given a group

one carcinogen designation, and so what does that mean, right? It means that there's sufficient

evidence that exposure to this can cause cancer in humans, and I said cause. Now that sounds

really scary, right? Because in that same category, we see tobacco smoke, we see asbestos,

but it basically just means that they're confident they're linked to cancer. It doesn't

mean that they're inherently as harmful as cigarettes, but the evidence where we see

you know supporting their carcinogenicity, I don't know why I even decided to say that word,

but it's strong and it's consistent, right? And so basically it's not about how dangerous it is.

It just reflects that level of evidence. You know Shanti, there's a big push for people to eat

whole foods. They're not talking about a whole salami, right? While salami, hot dogs, bacon,

delimid sausages, those are going to go into that category. And so when we look at the research

for that, there was a large scale review by this group that designates the cancer risk here,

and they found that daily amounts of these processed meats, as small as 50 grams, it's a couple

ounces every day, can increase the relative risk of colorectal cancer by about 18%. Now,

that doesn't mean that one fifth of people will get cancer because they're eating processed meats,

it just means that compared to someone who's eating really little or no processed meats,

someone who's eating it daily has an 18% higher relative chance of developing that colorectal cancer.

Well, when I think of how many pizzas people eat with a pepperoni on it, etc. Let's talk a

little bit about the difference between ultra processed meat and red meat so that people can

identify what we're talking about here. Yeah, so I think a lot about these lunch meats,

I think it's really common for people to make a sandwich, put a bunch of ham or

deli turkey on it. Likewise with breakfast, we see a lot of sausage, bacon, things like that.

And so that's where we want to be a little bit mindful, but where it differs from red meat,

red meat is actually a 2A carcinogen and it basically means that there's not as much

conclusive research as to processed meats. So it doesn't mean that red meat is harmless, but

we don't see that strength of evidence being as strong. So it's still something we should be

conscious of, but really what we're looking at in terms of the highest risk to colorectal

cancer is going to be the smoking, the salt thing, the fermentation or like that addition of

the preservatives or flavor enhancers that we see in the deli meats. And I think they're convenient,

it's fine to have once in a while, but if you're someone who's eating it every single day,

we need to just be conscious of maybe we can mix in some other options.

Shanti, and you know, I ask you this all the time, what do you do about the fact they taste so good?

Oh, I am a salami mommy. I love salami, and I tend to make it a special occasion thing,

right? If I'm having pizza, if I'm having like a sub maybe once in a while, that's something I do,

but my family, I grew up eating these deli meats as part of every single breakfast.

And so it's kind of ingrained in my culture. It's the go-to breakfast option to have an open

face sandwich with these deli meats. And so for me, I kind of had to rethink a little bit,

what are some other things that can be having for breakfast? That's a good source of protein,

but that's still convenient. So as always, it's always about moderation, right?

It sure is. It sure is. And I think if you're looking for other options, there are some good options,

right? You could do like if you're trying to put something into your lunch, rotisserie chicken,

slice that up, flavored tuna packs. I absolutely love those. The sweet and spicy one is my favorite.

And then there are great options like grilled or roasted meats that you make at home, right?

Something I love to do is that at the beginning of the week, throw a bunch of chicken into a

Ziploc bag with a salad dressing for marinade. And then I grill it up and slice it up. And I've

got that for sandwiches and salads and things like that. Eggs too. Those can be boiled and sliced.

So there's a lot of ways that we can get this protein in. That's kind of convenient,

but not as bad for us. Those are great ideas. And it's always lunch too, because

a sandwich is a go-to for lunch. So these are some nice alternatives. So what does the research

actually say about colorectal cancer risk and ultra-process meat intake? You gave us some numbers

on what the World Health Organization has ranked them. But does this really cause colorectal cancer?

We've seen a lot of strong research that shows that when we eat more of it,

your risk really goes up. And this is consistent. And it's large scale studies looking at

multiple studies, right? So systematic reviews and meta-analyses looking at multiple,

multiple studies. And this is across the world. I think it's so important to recognize that it's

the second most common cause of cancer deaths when the numbers for men and women are combined.

And excluding skin cancer, it's the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women

here in the U.S. And I think what's great is that when we understand that there is this risk factor

of eating delimates, that's something we're in control of, right? Because of course,

genetics play a factor. And there are other factors that play into it like your lifestyle,

your physical activity, right? But because diet is something that's modifiable and that we're in

control of, it's a really great way that we can prevent. You know, we have seen the rates of

colorectal cancer go up in young adults. And that's very concerning, isn't it? Yeah, there was a

research study that found that this high consumption of ultra-process foods was linked to a significantly

higher risk of developing colon polyps, right? And these polyps are precursors to colorectal cancer

particularly among younger adults. So I think it's a great time to just start having a conversation

with your doctor, especially if you're noticing things like changes in your bowel habits,

if you've been regular your whole life and all the sudden you're not or vice versa,

if you're noticing any kind of blood in the stool, have the open conversations with your doctor,

talk about your history in your family, and just determine what the right next steps are for you,

whether that means testing or keeping an eye on things. And if I remember correctly, it used to be

50 is the age to get a colonoscopy. I think they've lowered that to 45 now. So this is really important

and it's not as bad as people think it is. I'm one of those people. I go in and get it done without

any kind of medication. I know I'm unusual, but I gotta be driving that bus, okay? I gotta be

awake for it. But you know, they make it very easy and the prep has gotten better too for it.

Don't let any of that stop. You talked to your doctor about it. It's so very important.

Finally, give us another tip on cutting back on processed ultra-process meats. You had a few

in there, anything else that we could take to our lunch? Well, first, thank you for sharing that

personal tidbit. I think that's so important that we're just open in these conversations, right?

But as far as some other swaps, I think exploring plant-based proteins is something that's so important.

We know that these are more protective to health and can be anti-inflammatory and therefore

reduce the risk of colarctal cancer. And so consider things like beans, lentils, tofu,

tempeh, quinoa, quinoa bowls can be a really easy lunch. And I love either making

the crispy chickpeas and the air fryer or baking them or just buying them in a bag. They're

super delicious, super easy to make. And so there is a way to do convenience even in the plant

placed realm. Yeah, you can get those all over the crispy chickpeas, right? I've seen them in the

store and the bags. Yeah, I like to substitute them on my salad for croutons. It's still a crunch,

but they're a little bit more high in fiber. And of course, they've got some protein.

Great ideas today. Will you come over and cook for me? Let's make it a date.

Well, and let me tell you, all you have to do to my listeners out there, go to ahealthierMichigan.org

because a lot of Shanti's recipes are on there and they're all healthy and they're all delicious.

ahealthierMichigan.org. Shanti, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. A very important

topic today on the hidden costs of convenience, those ultra-process meats and colorectal cancer.

Shanti is a registered dietitian and health and wellness spokesperson at Blue Cross Blue

Shield of Michigan. This is Ann Arbor's talk station, 1290 WLVY.