bacon

New Study Arrives Just in Time to Ruin Brunch

Photo: Jonathan Knowles/Getty Images

Here’s a damper for your boozy-brunch plans: The American Institute for Cancer Research and World Cancer Research Fund have spoken and they say that alcohol, processed meats, and obesity may raise your risk for stomach cancer.

They analyzed 89 studies that included data on 17 million adults, 77,000 of whom had stomach cancers. For the purposes of the study, they considered meat items processed if they had “undergone salt-preservation, smoking or fermentation, including sausages, bacon, ham, meatballs, burgers and cold meats.” For every 50 grams (about 1.8 ounces) of processed meat eaten daily, stomach cancer risk went up by 18 percent.

They also found that people who had three or more alcoholic drinks per day had at least a 6 percent increased risk of developing stomach cancer, and it went up the more they drank. (Being obese by body-mass index also raised the risk.)

Of course, for the eleventy billionth time, this report doesn’t say that any of these things definitely causes cancer — it could be that people who drink a fair amount and eat processed meat daily have other unhealthy habits that contribute to their cancer risk.

But, as we were reminded this week, life is short. The YOLO move is to get a side of bacon with your eggs Benedict at bottomless brunch.

New Study Arrives Just in Time to Ruin Brunch