The debate about the sanctity of the body and what could possibly cause defects and mutations in the genes of certain body cells has been long standing. Cancer is actually a term used to describe a large group of different diseases but can simply be called the uncontrolled division and growth of cells in the body.

Your body is made up of trillions of cells. Normally, those cells conduct business in an orderly fashion, dividing during the adult years mostly to replace dying cells or to repair injuries in parts of the body. Though there are more than 100 diseases under the cancer umbrella, all of them start because abnormal cells grow out of control, invading surrounding tissues and spreading throughout our lymph system.

Much research has been done about whether or not there are triggers that jumpstart this process, and if so, which they are and how we can avoid them. Could diet be a potential culprit here? Some say it could be -- and many point to an excess of protein and animals products as an issue.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) advises individuals to have a healthy diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables and that list include very few animal products: chicken breast, ground turkey breast and extra-lean hamburger. Perhaps those are simply coincidence, though.

While exploring more research on the ACS website lead me to findings that aren’t at all shocking:

Another team of researchers found that tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity and alcohol consumption were among the leading causes of death; combined, the first three accounted for more than one-third of all deaths in the United States. In addition to mortality, these unhealthy lifestyle behaviors impose significant burdens on society, such as disability, diminished quality of life and increased health care costs.
What should concern us the most is this statistic:
Obesity and physical inactivity may account for 25 to 30% of several major cancers, including colon, post-menopausal breast, endometrial, kidney and cancer of the esophagus.
There is a correlation between the increased intake of meat products and obesity, but the variables of exercise and type of meat product weigh heavily on the outcome of health in an individual. What’s more, we cannot be sure that the intake of meat products could affect an individual on the cellular level to the point of cellular mutation -- we simply know that obesity is linked to increased cancer risk. Obesity in itself is a complicated health condition that cannot simply be traced to a high-protein/non-vegetarian diet.

The answer to this question is multi-faceted, but we do know some risks for certain. Smoking, a lack of exercise and an excess of drug and alcohol consumption do not help in the quest to a healthy body and contribute to a variety of disease, not simply cancer. Consult the American Cancer Society’s website for more information.