Study.. Excessive Chicken Consumption Doubles Risk of Death from Digestive System Cancers

A recent Italian study has revealed a surprising finding that could change the widely held belief that chicken meat is a healthy option. It turns out that excessive consumption may double the risk of death from 11 types of digestive system cancers, including intestinal and stomach cancers.

Researchers at the Italian National Institute for Digestive Diseases analyzed dietary and health data from around 5,000 individuals, most of whom were over the age of fifty, over a follow-up period of about twenty years.

The results showed that consuming more than 300 grams of poultry per week doubled the risk of death from digestive cancers compared to those who ate less than one serving per week. Moreover, eating more than four servings of poultry per week was associated with a 27% higher risk of death from any cause, with these effects appearing more prominently among men.

Although the researchers could not precisely determine the cause, they proposed several possible explanations, notably that cooking chicken at high temperatures may produce harmful chemicals that can cause cellular changes leading to cancer.

They also pointed out that other factors, such as the quality of poultry feed or the use of hormones and medications during poultry farming, might contribute to these risks.

Finally, the researchers questioned why men seemed more affected than women, suggesting that hormonal differences between genders or the fact that men typically consume larger portions of meat at meals could be responsible.