Before I was old enough to go to school, we lived on a small farm in Illinois, only a few miles across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. Dad raised chickens, among other things, so there was no shortage of eggs. At that very early age, I learned that one of my favorite sandwiches was a fried egg and bacon sandwich. I still enjoy a bacon and egg sandwich every once in a while, although I shouldn’t.

A breakfast favorite of mine is to cook up several patties of sausage and then chop them up in the skillet and then crack several eggs on top and have sausage scrambled eggs. A side of hashbrowns, cooked with onion and garlic and I’m good to go until lunch.

For lunch or dinner, who doesn’t enjoy a grilled summer sausage or polish sausage or bratwurst? Of course, you can’t enjoy your grilled sausage without an ice-cold beer.

Or what about a meat pizza that includes both sausage and bacon? Oh yeah, don’t forget the cold beer to wash it down with.

You probably have your own favorite combinations or meals involving bacon or some form of sausage and of course, everyone has their own favorite brew to chase it all down. If you’re like me, these are part of your favorite foods, but the folks at the World Cancer Research Fund are cringing if they read this, as they have just issued their 10-point plan to reduce cancer.

Yes, they are telling us no more bacon, sausage or any kind of processed meat and they aren’t real thrilled with our having a cold brew with the banned meats. They say that reducing or eliminating these can actually reduce your risk of developing cancer by as much as 40%.

Professor Martin Wiseman a medical and scientific adviser to the World Cancer Research Fund explained:

“The evidence on processed meat and cancer is clear-cut. The data show that no level of intake can confidently be associated with a lack of risk. Processed meats are often high in salt, which can also increase the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.”

Red meat is also a big no-no, but they aren’t saying you have to totally eliminate red meat. If you just can’t live without some red meat, they recommend eating no more than 4-6 ounces of red meat at a time, and no more than 3 times a week.

As for the beer, this new guideline recommends NO alcohol at all. They study states that consuming any amount of alcoholic drinks can increase a person’s risk of developing several types of cancer. This is something you have to weigh for yourself because some doctors recommend a glass of red wine daily to help with hearth health. My doctor has recommended a hearty red wine to help boost my GOOD cholesterol.

Other favorite foods looked down on by the new guidelines are what they classify as fast foods, which, according to the study, includes bread made with white flour, cakes, cookies, potato chips and pizza. Other items they want everyone to cut down on is salt and tobacco.

Yep, many of our favorite foods are the ones not good for us. Kind of takes the fun out of eating, doesn’t it?