Eating 1.8 0z (50g) of processed meat a day – the equivalent of just one sausage a day or two to three slices of bacon – can significantly raise your risk of bowel cancer, according to experts from WCRF or The World Cancer Research Fund. This alarming statistic adds weight to the growing body of evidence that suggest that a diet high in meat can be deadly.

According to the WCRF, the evidence from thousands of studies on lifestyle and cancer is so strong that eating processed meat increases the risk of cancer that the best option is to avoid it completely. When you consider that eating just 50g of processed meat a day can increase your risk by up to a fifth, it is clear that you can make a difference by cutting out as much as possible or even better eliminating it altogether. Processed meats may also trigger cancer in the prostate, lung, stomach and oesophagus. Processed meats are preserved by smoking and salting and include sausages, bacon, ham, salami and hot dogs. 

Keeping fit by jogging or cycling in middle age and beyond slows and reverses the decline in muscle power, balance and coordination in later life, according to a study published in the April edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Women begin to lose fitness around the age of 35, with aerobic power falling by up to a half by the age of 60. This loss of fitness can make everyday activities exhausting but regular cardiovascular exercise which strengthens the heart and lungs can compensate for the fall in the body’s ability to use oxygen and generate energy that typically occurs in middle age. Reviewing previous studies on the benefits of regular exercise in middle age and beyond the research team came to the conclusion that a regular exercise programme can slow or reverse the loss of aerobic fitness and this in turn reduces the individual’s biological age. The Government advises that people exercise five times a week for 30 minutes or more and the level of exertion should be enough to raise heart beat to 120 beats a minute or higher, so brisk walking, gardening, housework, dancing and swimming are all recommended. Other evidence shows that regular exercise can ease symptoms of the menopause, boost weight loss and cut the risk of a range of health problems including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and depression.

Mums who eat the kinds of foods that contain hydrogenated fats, such as takeaways, snacks, cakes and sweets when they are pregnant or breastfeeding could end up with heavier babies.

According to the latest research which is published in the journal Lipids in Health and Disease a diet rich in hydrogenated fats and oils – which help extend the shelf life of many processed foods – can lead to the creation of trans fats which previous studies have shown can increase the risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes. The study suggests that there is a direct link between the level of trans fat eaten by nursing mothers and the level of these fats in their breast milk. The researchers also point out that other studies have suggested that babies exposed to trans fatty acids in the womb and during lactation could be negatively affected into adulthood.