Cut back on, or cut out, red meat and processed meats. Protect your lungs in other ways, too.

You gonna eat that? It could be bad for your lungs.

05-28-09 RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—We all know smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, accounting for 85 to 95 percent of all cases. But researchers have now found evidence that nonsmokers can cut their risk further by cutting back on red meat. The study, led by a National Institutes of Health researcher, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition this month.

THE DETAILS: Researchers investigated data on nearly 280,000 men and 190,000 women, including the types of meat they ate, how they cooked it, and an estimation of how much iron they absorbed from the meat. Researchers followed up eight years later and found that eating red meat increased the risk of lung cancer in both men (22 percent) and women (13 percent). Both men and women with higher iron intakes from meat had an increased risk in lung cancer; eating well-done or very-well-done meat was associated with lung cancer in men.

WHAT IT MEANS: Hands down, cigarette smoke (including secondhand smoke) is the major lung cancer culprit. Radon, a radioactive gas found in the bedrock under homes in some parts of the country, and particulate pollution, which comes from old diesel systems and coal-fired electricity plants, are also sources that significantly raise our risk. While eating red and processed meats doesn’t appear to pose nearly as big as a threat, it’s a layer of protection against lung cancer you can control. And many other studies have shown eating less (or no) red and processed meats can help you live longer and lower your risk of other cancers, including pancreatic cancer, which has been linked to eating charred meat. Add the fact that eating less meat reduces your carbon footprintThe amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses that an individual is directly and indirectly responsible for emitting, or that¹s produced by manufacturing and/or using a product. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses promote global warming by trapping heat and warming the surface of the earth., and you have a dietary change with multiple benefits.