Scientists Have Finally Discovered Why Consuming Red Meat Causes Cancer

Many people grew up being urged to eat pork, beef, and dairy products for their health, but in recent years have received advice to cut back on animal products – especially red meat. 

According to a number of studies, the consumption of red meat is linked with increased risk for cancer(s), atherosclerosis (heart disease), stroke, Alzheimer’s, and even Type II Diabetes…  But until now, researchers have not exactly understood why.

As The Telegraph reports, scientists from the University of California in San Diego believe it mainly has to do with sugar. 

While humans, as omnivores, can tolerate eating meat (and have been doing so for many years, but not in the quantity witnessed today) there is unique sugar named Neu5Gc, found in most mammals but not in humans, that triggers an immune response which causes inflammation.

Mice were used for the study which found that all the evidence linking Neu5Gc to cancer was circumstantial or indirectly predicted from experimental setups. According to the scientists, this is the first time they mimicked the exact situation in humans through feeding non-human Neu5Gc and inducing anti-Neu5Gc antibodies. This increased spontaneous cancer in mice.