“Bacon broke the Internet,” was the tweet of the day with a link to a Minneapolis radio station web page showing a bunch of tweets regarding the news that bacon could be a possible the cause of cancer. This one had me laughing; believing this one could not be possibly not true.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) states that, processed meat is classified as a Group 1, carcinogenic to humans, based on “sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer” (2015).

Bacon is in this group, but the food itself cannot cause cancer. “No, you can’t say bacon causes cancer. Cancer is a complex disease and not caused by a single food,” clinical dietitian, Sandra Rather states. Rather also mentions that eating bacon once in awhile is not going to do any harm. Additionally, for a successful, healthy diet it is best to have everything in moderation.

There are many ways to reduce our chances of deadly cancer. Exercise and keeping a healthy diet are just the tip of the iceberg, according to Rather. The report released by the IARC also advises, “Findings further support current public health recommendations to limit intake of meat.” However, they also state that red meat is still of nutritional value. So there may not be a need to not stop eating it just because there is a talk out there, saying that bacon and red meat causes cancer. The main thing to do is to continue on with your healthy lifestyle. Remaining healthy is a daily practice of eating according to your physical needs; exercising within a capacity that is healthy for you; and keeping informed on what your body tells you, which is to feel good.

Even though the whole “bacon causes cancer” craze broke the Internet for a day, it shows that you should still not believe everything you read on the Internet.