Some potentially good news for all you carnivores out there: A new study shows meat itself might not cause cancer. It could be how you cook it.
Researchers from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston compared healthy people to individuals who had the most common type of kidney cancer.
Since the kidney's job is to filter toxins, it makes sense to search for links specifically between diet and kidney cancer.
The researchers confirmed those with kidney cancer ate more red and white meat on average than those without.
But they also found a relationship involving harmful compounds created when meat is cooked a certain way.
Cooking over an open flame or at high temperatures — barbecuing or pan-frying, for instance — has been shown to create the harmful compounds.
And the researchers showed a higher risk for kidney cancer due to cooking method was independent of the risk simply from eating meat.
More work still has to be done, but the researchers suggest people can still consume meat, just in moderation, and when cooking it, to avoid charring.
This video includes images from Getty Images.