Desi Talk

Does Red Meat Cause Cancer? Here’s What The Science Says www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know ENTERTAINMENT 20 LIFESTYLE July 25, 2025 She recommends that people struggling to make a change focus on adding healthy foods rather than elimi- nating favorites. Focus your meals on plant-based proteins like lentils, tofu and beans, as well as whole grains, fruits and veg- etables. These foods are high in fiber and carry numerous other health benefits, including – but not limited to – lowering cancer risk. THE SCIENCE ON RED MEAT AND CANCER So how sure are we that red meat causes cancer? Sure enough that scientists are concerned – especially for people who eat red meat frequently. In the 1970s, epidemiological studies found a signifi- cant correlation between meat intake and colon cancer. These observational studies did not prove causation, but subsequent research attempted more rigorous methods, including the famous Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Both demonstrated strong associations between colon cancer and red meat con- sumption. But it’s hard to definitively conclude red meat is the di- rect cause. Although researchers took lifestyle factors like exercise and diet into consideration, there may be other variables that could influence these results. “I think it is hard to isolate and focus on single risk fac- tors or banking on a single smoking gun,” said Y. Nancy You, a colorectal surgical oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Center. Nonetheless, taken together, these – and roughly 800 other studies – helped form the basis of the 2015 report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer clas- sifying red meat as a 2A carcinogen, meaning “probably causes cancer.” Since then, much more data have emerged. We now have greater insight into possible mechanisms behind this link, including how chemicals introduced while cooking may drive precursors of colorectal cancer. WHAT I WANT MY PATIENTS TO KNOW Stern acknowledges that despite mounting evidence, there are many reasons people push back against the idea that red meat – not just processed meat – could be linked to cancer risk: Red meat has been an enjoyable staple of the American diet for generations and is often available cheaply. “There is also some level of fatalism in the population, with some people having the perception that ‘everything causes cancer,’” Stern said. “Thus, why deprive them- selves of something they may like, if in the end, every- thing is bad?” What I think about most at the end of the day is this: Between 30 and 50 percent of cancers are preventable, and cancer cases continue to rise among younger adults. Red meat is just one of several pos- sible lifestyle factors that we need to weigh. So talk to your doctor about your health history to get an idea of your personal risk.. Trisha Pasricha is an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. -Special to TheWashington Post - Continued From Page 18 Tanvi—The Great Makes It To List Of Best Movies On Persons With Disabilities M ost movies on protagonists with dis- abilities tend to be successful. But that is the commercial viewpoint, which is valid because exposure to understanding diverse such ailments (some rare) is a must even in 2025 India where ignorance and social stereotyping still thrive. And without enter- taining the audience enough to work at the box- office, such enterprises, however diligently made, are fruitless. Example: if a film is to be made on staying on in one’s motherland, it should be as heartfelt as Naam (which hit the jackpot), not as boring and unrealistic as Swades(which flopped). Weeks ago, we watched the brilliant Sitaare Zameen Par, the spiritual sequel to another mas- terly film, Taare Zameen Par. And now, making a gigantic evolution as filmmaker and writer, Anu- pam Kher directs a sensitive, sensible, thought- provoking motion-picture experience named Tanvi—The Great. Thankfully, it joins a fairly long and illustrious list that also comprises Koshish, Iqbal, Black, Barfi! and Hichki. And if Jagga Jasoos, Sparsh and Khamoshi—The Musical did not make it, there were individual-specific reasons for it, again in the crucial department of audience appeal. Tanvi… centers around Tanvi (Kher has taken inspira- tion from real-life niece, Tanvi, who is an autistic and features prominently in the post-climax, along with his mother Dulari, all of 97 today, and brother Raju Kher). The reel Tanvi here is essayed by his student, (in his academy, An Actor Prepares) Shubhangi Dutt, who can be described by the French as c’est magnifique. If she does not win an award, it will devalue the award and not her. Shubhangi has apparently spent a fortnight with the real Tanvi and had been instructed by Anupam to “observe her soul” rather than mimic her. And what she has achieved will last her a lifetime as an understanding actor and an evolved human being. Every expression, gesture, movement and reaction seem to have come from someone who must have lived an autistic person within here for the duration of the film’s making! The story is set between Delhi and Lansdowne, a hill resort where there is also a military base in Uttaranchal. Tanvi is Vidya Raina (Pallavi Agnihotri)’s autistic daughter, and her husband, Captain Samar Raina (Karan Tacker) had died in an enemy explosion, on the way to realize his dream of hosting the Tricolor at Siachen, the world’s high- est battleground. When Tanvi’s mother has to attend a lo-o-o-ong convention (the only hyperbole element in the story, and avoidable at that!) on Autism in NewYork, the ‘burden’ of looking after Tanvi falls on Samar’s grandfather, Col. Pratap Raina (Anupam Kher), a widower now who lives alone in Lansdowne. Pratap initially does not understand Tanvi and almost wants Vidya to cancel her trip so that he is not left alone to look after her. But Vidya predicts that he will come to understand her slowly, and her prediction is not just bang-on but comes true beyond expectations! As Tanvi, who makes friends pronto, wins over not just her grandpa but also her music teacher there, Raza Saab (Boman Irani) and Brigadier Joshi (Jackie Shroff), she also discovers her fa- ther’s unrealized dream (she was 7 when he died) of hoisting the Tricolor at Siachen after foraging through his room (which has been lovingly pre- served by Pratap). Her only dream now is to fulfil that, but there are two obstacles: she has to join the Army, as only their personnel can go there, and the Army does not allow autistics in the force! And now, despite reasoned discouragement from her grandfather, Tanvi begins and completes her military training and appears for the interview. What happens next? The thrill element at the end becomes a shade less in impact because of the Utopian end and a slight excess in length. But for a message film like this, the rather implausible climax can be overlooked. Anupam Kher and Jackie Shroff (both especial- ly), Pallavi Joshi, Boman Irani (totally charming in his demeanor), M. Nassar (in the recruiting inter- view), Arvind Swami, Gautam Ahuja as Joshi’s son and Devender Madan as Joshi’s mother strike home in their performances along with Iain Glen and Ashish Kauhsik in smaller roles. The script is heartfelt, the dialogues wonderful (Kher with Ankur Suman and Abhishek Dixit) and the produc- tion values superb. Kher’s direction is passionate and if it can be faulted at all, it is in the underuse of the brilliant songs of M.M. Keeravani and the spot-on lyrics of Kausar Munir. It is to the writers’ credit that the written word does not resort to melodrama and yet stirs our emotional chord. The background score too is perfect. Watch this film for its passion, its magic and the take- aways. Rating: **** By RajivVijayakar PHOTO:Universal Communications Shubhangi Dutt in Tanvi—The Great. Photo:TheWashington Post