Hundreds of cancer researchers took part in a five-year project spanning more than 7,000 clinical studies and designed to document the links between diet and cancer. Their conclusion, published in the World Cancer Research Fund's report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective (2007), has rocked the health world with a declaration that all people should immediately stop buying and eating processed meat products and that all processed meat should be avoided for life!

Processed meats, the report explains, are simply too dangerous for human consumption. And why? Because they contain chemical additives that are known to greatly increase the risk of various cancers, including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, brain tumors, pancreatic cancer and many more. The report, published at this DietAndCancerReport.org website also recommends that consumers:

• Avoid all sugary soft drinks for life.
• Exercise at least 30 minutes a day.
• Get lean and fit, without becoming underweight.
• Limit consumption of ALL meats (even fresh meat).
• Breastfeed all infants for their first six months, avoiding infant formula.

Sadly, the WCRF still does not recommend that consumers use nutritional supplements to help protect themselves from cancer, indicating that the group still has a lot to learn about the role of medicinal mushrooms, sea vegetables, microalgae, Chinese herbs, rainforest herbs and superfood extracts in preventing and reversing cancer. But at least the group's recommendation that consumers now avoid all processed meat products is a huge step in the right direction. It is the first time that any internationally-recognized cancer organization has found the courage to make a partial proclaimation about the health hazards of the chemicals found in processed meat products. It's almost as big a deal as when the American Medical Association, after years of taking millions of dollars from tobacco companies, finally admitted that smoking causes lung cancer and heart disease. (A decade after the scientific evidence was irrefutable, of course, but then again, the AMA was making money off Big Tobacco by running tobacco ads in JAMA...)

What is "processed meat" exactly?
A woman asked me this question at a recent live event where I was warning the audience about the dangers of chemicals found in popular grocery products. Frankly, I was surprised to hear the question. But I've since learned that many people really don't know the difference between processed meat and non-processed meat ("fresh" meat).

Here's the difference:

Fresh meat usually has only one ingredient: The meat! Fresh meat is refrigerated and has a very short shelf life (just a few days, usually). It's usually packaged in simple wrappers, with no fancy logos or color printing.

Processed meat has many ingredients and is usually packaged for long-term shelf life. These products almost always contain sodium nitrite, the cancer-causing chemical additive that meat companies use as a color fixer to turn their meat products a bright red "fresh-looking" color. Processed meat products include:

• Bacon
• Sausage
• Pepperoni
• Beef jerky
• Deli slices
• Hot dogs
• Sandwich meat (including those served at restaurants)
• Ham
• Meat "gift" products like Christmas sausages
• Meat used in canned soups
• Meat used in frozen pizza
• Meat used in kid's lunch products
• Meat used in ravioli, spaghetti or Italian pasta products

... and many more meat products.

Unless it says "NITRITE FREE" on the front label, you can bet it's made with cancer-causing sodium nitrite!

(Hint: You will only find nitrite-free meat products in two places in the grocery store: 1) In the fresh meat section where you can buy freshly-ground hamburger, for example, and 2) In the freezer, where you can find "natural" meat products that are nitrite-free.

What are the dangerous chemicals in processed meats?
Sodium nitrite is one of the most dangerous chemicals added to processed meats. Please be aware:

• You MUST read the ingredients list to find the sodium nitrite! Meat product companies do not list this ingredient on the front of the package.

• Even ORGANIC meat products and NATURAL meat products can still contain sodium nitrite. So read the labels to be sure, and avoid buying any meat product made with sodium nitrite.

• Be especially careful of food for kids! Virtually all packaged food products containing meat and marketed to children contain sodium nitrite! (Read the ingredients to protect your children.)

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a second dangerous chemical found in virtually all processed meat products. MSG is a dangerous excitotoxin linked to neurological disorders such as migraine headaches, Alzheimer's disease, loss of appetite control, obesity and many other serious health conditions. Manufacturers use MSG to add flavor to dead-tasting processed meat products.

Essentially, dead meat products look and taste dead (because they are), so meat companies use the following three ingredients to make them look fresh and taste interesting:

Sodium nitrite makes the meat look red and fresh. (But it promotes cancer.)

MSG makes the meat taste savory. (But it causes neurological disorders.)

Processed salt makes the meat taste more interesting. (But it causes nutritional problems and high blood pressure.)

On top of these three chemical additives, processed meats also contain saturated animal fat that is often contaminated with PCBs, heavy metals, pesticide residues and other dangerous substances.

You can learn more about dangerous chemicals in the food supply in my book, Grocery Warning, available from Truth Publishing.

Or you can download my free Honest Food Guide from www.HonestFoodGuide.org which reveals the true health dangers of numerous chemicals added to processed foods. The Honest Food Guide has now been downloaded by over one million people.

Protect yourself and your family
Processed meats promote cancer. There is simply no question about the scientific validity of that statement, and anyone who disagrees with it is either working for the meat industry or hopelessly behind the times on their nutritional research.

The processed meat industry, of course, insists that processed meat is perfectly healthy and that you can eat all you want. It's no surprise, of course: Big Tobacco insisted that cigarettes aren't really bad for your health and that nicotine isn't addictive, either. No industry is really willing to admit that its products are hazardous to human health, and the processed meat industry is no exception.

To protect yourself from these dangerous processed food products, here are the action steps to take:

1) Check the ingredients of all processed meat products in your refrigerator and pantry. Throw out any products containing sodium nitrite or MSG (monosodium glutamate).

2) Inform your spouse, roomates or children of what you're doing and why you're doing it. Show them the sodium nitrite right on the label of the products as you throw them out. Let them know that the World Cancer Research Fund now recommends that ALL consumers avoiding eating processed meats for life!

3) Boycott all processed meat products for life! Never buy processed meats again. That includes shopping at the grocery store, eating at a restaurant or consuming foods at a social event.

4) Spread the word. Tell others about the dangers of sodium nitrite. Print out the Honest Food Guide (www.HonestFoodGuide.com) and share it, if you want. Let people know that processed meats are dangerous for their health.

What's next: The future of processed meats
My research tells me that chemical additives in processed meats are emerging as the next big food safety issue to hit mainstream awareness. Just a few years ago, most consumers had never heard of trans fats or the dangers of hydrogenated oils, for example. But once that issue went mainstream, fast food restaurants all over the country announced changes to avoid hydrogenated oils.

I believe that sodium nitrite in processed meats is the next big food safety issue that's about to break into mainstream awareness. More and more consumers are suddenly aware that hot dogs promote cancer, or that bacon consumption is incredibly bad for your health. As awareness of this issue builds, there's going to be increasing political pressure to pass laws that protect the public by strictly limited or banning the use of sodium nitrite in processed meats.

The meat industry, of course, which seems to have absolutely no respect for human or animal life, will fight this every inch of the way. The people in charge of meat-producing companies exhibit zero concern for the health of the consumers who actually eat their products, and they remain entirely focused on the profits to be had from selling more toxic meat products to gullible consumers.

But just like Big Tobacco's marketing methods and fraudulent science was finally exposed as wholesale fraud, the processed meat industry is going to have to face scientific facts sooner or later: Sodium nitrite promotes cancer, and eating processed meat products substantially increases your risk of cancer. There's no denying it or arguing about it, at least not by any sane person. Eating cancer-causing chemicals is blatantly and irrefutably dangerous to your health.

Why some people commit nutritional suicide
Of course, many low-income, low-education consumers still continue to smoke cigarettes AND eat processed meat products. (Attend any NASCAR event and you'll find a whole crowd of 'em!) But the smart consumers (who represent the real future of human civilization, by the way) are wising up and increasingly opting for healthier foods made without dangerous chemicals.

There are people in society today who exhibit a strong desire to commit nutritional suicide. For those people, there is beef jerky, hot dogs, frozen pizza, cigarettes and over-hyped "energy" drinks. The future of these people is easy to see: Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, chemotherapy, pharmaceuticals, pain, death and bankruptcy.

Thankfully, there are other people who believe in taking care of their health and in living informed lives with outstanding health. For these people, there are living foods, superfoods, raw cacao, sprouts, rainforest herbs, sunshine, juicing and joyful exercise. Their future is also clear: Exceptional mental performance, freedom from chronic pain, excellent vitality and longevity, spiritual awareness, abundant living and much more.

Which group do you want to belong to?

You make that decision every time you shop for food. When you buy processed meats, you put yourself on a timeline track towards disease, suffering and medical victimization. But when you avoid meat products and focus on a plant-based diet, you are creating a future filled of abundance and health. It's up to you to decide which of these futures you'd rather create.

Regardless of which future you choose, there's no judgement from me. You're free to do what you want with your life and your own body. Some people choose to abuse their bodies as chemical playgrounds, living in the moment and dying young. That's their choice. Others choose to extend their lives and honor their bodies, living an extended, purpose-filled life. That's fine, too. I don't really care how people live their lives, I just want people to live consciously and understand that their decisions create results.

Anyone who decides to eat processed meat products on a repeated basis is simply creating a result. That result is cancer, and over enough years, that cancer will grow to the point where it shows up on a scan. That's when the doctor says, "You have cancer" and starts prescribing even more toxic chemicals known as chemotherapy agents. This is not a disease with an unknown cause. In fact, cancer is incredibly easy to both prevent AND cure -- but only if you understand the fundamentals of nutrition.