Researchers from Oxford University has revealed that people who eat chicken or its products are at high risk of developing three different types of cancer.
According to the researchers, eating chicken could put consumers at a higher risk of a rare form of blood cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and prostate cancer in men.
The researchers surveyed the chicken consumption patterns of 475,488 British people aged between 37 and 73 and monitored health ramifications over five years.
The study found more than 23,000 of the participants were diagnosed with any type of cancer during that time and the consumption of chicken was associated with malignant melanoma, prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“Poultry intake was positively associated with risk for malignant melanoma, prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” says the study.
“The positive associations of poultry intake with prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma require further investigation.”
The team said that the research carried out was an ‘association study,’ meaning that it only shows the correlation between eating chicken and the certain types of cancers linked with it, rather than investigating the reasons why.
The study didn’t pin down exactly what link is associated between eating chicken and cancer, and it could mean that the meat contains a carcinogen or that the method of cooking is a factor.
Further research will be needed to determine if the meat contains a carcinogen or if there is a link between how the chicken was prepared.