Take part in the seven-day meat-free challenge from Monday 24 September and give your bowel a break.
Going meat-free for one week is a great opportunity to start thinking about how much meat you eat and the impact eating too much meat can have on both the environment and your health – including bowel.
Meat Free Week is now a global initiative. Paul, Mary, and Stella McCartney (Founders of Meat Free Monday) say, “Taking part in Meat Free Week is a fun and easy way to have a positive impact on the planet and on our health. It’s also a way to become familiar with a whole variety of meat free foods and extend our range of imaginative menus. Enjoy.”
Studies show bowel cancer risk increases by 12% per 100g of red meat consumed per day and by 16% per 50g of processed meat consumed per day.
Bowel Cancer New Zealand (BCNZ) general manager Rebekah Heal says, “Meat Free Week gives people the perfect opportunity to include more plant-based foods in their meals, such as fruits, veggies and grains, and to see if a meat-reduced diet is for them – whether it’s just for one week a year or they get inspired and carry it on for one day a week.”
BCNZ encourages open discussion about bowel cancer with medical professionals and avoiding ‘sitting on your symptoms’. Symptoms include:
- Bleeding from the bottom or seeing blood in the toilet after a bowel motion;
- Change of bowel motions over several weeks that can come and go;
- Persistent or periodic severe pain the abdomen;
- A lump or mass in the abdomen;
- Tiredness and loss of weight for no particular reason;
- Anaemia.
MiNDFOOD.com has a fantastic range of meat-free recipes to make the challenge that much easier to take up and enjoy.
