LONDON, Great Britain (The Adobo Chronicles) – Consumers the world over abruptly abandoned bacon, hotdogs and processed meat in their diets and quickly turned to eating fruits and vegetables.  This, after the World Health Organization confirmed last week that processed meat causes cancer.

But wait, are fruits and vegetables really safe?

Not according to a new study by researchers at Glasgow University. They have linked increased use of nitrate fertilisers — used in the production of fruits and vegetables  — to an alarming rise in gullet cancer in Britain.

The disease – which affects three times more men than women – kills more than 3,000 people in the UK every year, a threefold increase over the past 20 years. It is more common than stomach cancer.

The increase has puzzled researchers. But Glasgow University researchers, led by Professor Kenneth McColl, have discovered a link between nitrates in fruit and vegetables and gullet cancer.

‘It appears that the mass production of vegetables in the Western world since the last world war may be the underlying factor that has led to such huge increases in this form of cancer,’ he added.

McColl said it was unlikely that organic food would be any healthier, because it also contained substantial levels of nitrate, some of which came from natural fertilisers such as manure.

His research has so far revealed that green and root vegetables contain the highest levels of nitrate.

Following the release of the Glasgow study, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that people stop eating meats, fruits and vegetables altogether and stick to a liquid diet — like purified water and beer.

WHO also suggested that if people can’t survive on liquids, then they should go on a paleo diet, one that is based on how stone age humans ate and survived.