I've been away for a while and have been unsubscribed to the group, and
yesterday while reading through the archive site I found this thread and
and had a few thoughts on the subject of why eating red meat might be
associated with a higher risk of colon cancer...

1. Polycyclic aromatic amines (I think that's what they are called).
Most of us probably like our steak cooked over a grill, right? (Yum!)
But I've read that when fat from the steak drips down into the coals or
fire, something in the fat is converted by the high heat into something
called amines. These amines then waft up to be redeposited on the meat.
These amines are also *extreemly* carcenogenic(sp?).

Maybe that's a factor. Amines are only made by cooking meat, not verrieg,
btw.

2. Soluble and insoluble fiber. Most meat eaters that *I* know don't tend
to eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Hell, most Americans don't eat a lot
of fruits and veggies! But fruits and veggies contain insoluble fiber
which regulalry cleans out the colon, and soluble fiber that has been
shown to reduce the risk of cancer if it's included in your diet.

Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, I think, ate a lot of high-fiber veggies and
fruits, along with their meat.

I also agree with the person who thinks that domesticated meat may contain
more of the "bad" fatty-acids and wild meat more of the "good" fatty
acids, because of the animals different diets. I think I read somewhere
that our fat deposits can reflect what we eat.

Just my "thoughts" on the subject.

Bryce