MANILA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Department of Health on Thursday called on the public to observe a balanced diet, three days from a World Health Organization report warned against red and processed meats.

Assistant Secretary Gerardo of the department told reporters that excessive consumption of processed meat which contains chemicals like nitrate and preservatives is harmful to health.

"Anything in excess is not advisable, all these processed meats somehow contain chemicals and preservatives and all of these things are carcinogenic in excess," he said.

The World Health Organization report said that based on limited evidence, "the consumption of red meat causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect."

This association was observed mainly for colorectal cancer, but associations were also seen for pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.

It was also found that consumption of processed meat could cause colorectal cancer.