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Is meat healthy?

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Replies

  • richieZavaleta
    richieZavaleta Posts: 2 Member
    Keep it up! :) I have been vegetarian for 3 years. My alergies went away, my weight is better and my cholesteral is 146. My doctor likes my bloodwork. I think we can also ask the question is eating meat unnessesary.
  • madammags
    madammags Posts: 97 Member
    I eat vegetarian, have done so for a number of years, but see nothing wrong either ethically or healthwise in eating meat.
    Do I think that many people eat more meat (and crappier meat) than is good for them? Sure, but as others have pointed out, one can also eat meat in healthy ways.
    It's the same with most foods, really, eating too much is not good for you. From both what I've seen of the scientific literature and from anecdotal evidence, I likewise think that a lot of the people who claim to be sensitive to gluten are just plain eating way more wheat than is reasonable. As in, feeling unwell when you eat wheat-based foods as the cornerstone for almost all your meals doesn't (in my eyes) qualify you as gluten intolerant, it qualifies you as having a poorly balanced diet.
  • pzarnosky
    pzarnosky Posts: 256 Member
    Keep it up! :) I have been vegetarian for 3 years. My alergies went away, my weight is better and my cholesteral is 146. My doctor likes my bloodwork. I think we can also ask the question is eating meat unnessesary.

    I think this is the real question. Of course consuming meat can/does have nutritional benefits, I'm not entirely sure why that's being debated. But is it actually necessary in 2016 for us to eat meat? What can meat provide that plants cannot (or cannot substitute)?
  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
    pzarnosky wrote: »
    Keep it up! :) I have been vegetarian for 3 years. My alergies went away, my weight is better and my cholesteral is 146. My doctor likes my bloodwork. I think we can also ask the question is eating meat unnessesary.

    I think this is the real question. Of course consuming meat can/does have nutritional benefits, I'm not entirely sure why that's being debated. But is it actually necessary in 2016 for us to eat meat? What can meat provide that plants cannot (or cannot substitute)?

    Cholesterol.

    Yes, yes, I know, I know, healthy young adult men are capable of making all the cholesterol they require, granted they get enough fat in their diets (so low fat vegan is a very bad idea; if you must do vegan, at least be sure to get adequate fats!). The question is, what if you are very young (immature liver and huge need for brain building cholesterol), very old (declining liver function and higher need for cellular repair- one of cholesterol's main jobs), a pregnant or lactating woman (increased cholesterol needs for growing another person's brain and nervous system, not to mention high hormone production - cholesterol is a precursor for every hormone in your body), have hepatitis or some other chronic liver condition? Are you absolutely sure you'd be able to make enough? Cholesterol is so utterly vital to get our existence, that yes, we make our own (otherwise we would quickly die, especially without a dietary source). Where do vegans get their cholesterol, especially when/if their ability to manufacture it gets compromised?

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited June 2016
    pzarnosky wrote: »
    Keep it up! :) I have been vegetarian for 3 years. My alergies went away, my weight is better and my cholesteral is 146. My doctor likes my bloodwork. I think we can also ask the question is eating meat unnessesary.

    I think this is the real question. Of course consuming meat can/does have nutritional benefits, I'm not entirely sure why that's being debated. But is it actually necessary in 2016 for us to eat meat? What can meat provide that plants cannot (or cannot substitute)?

    That's a separate question. The question posed in the OP is whether claims like those made in the China Study are correct, and eating meat is actually unhealthy, or is it not.

    I find it easier to eat well when I eat meat (adequate protein, more satisfying diet, less likely to overeat), but I certainly don't think eating meat is necessary, and if I thought it was unethical under the circumstances in which I choose to (I personally do care about sourcing), I would not eat meat (but I don't think that). I also don't think at all that the fact we CAN eat meat (we are omnivores) means we must or are healthier if we do -- being an omnivore means we can adapt to a wide variety of diets.

    In that this is a health and fitness debate site, I actually do think the question posed by the OP is the more appropriate and interesting one, and I am not qualified to address it so would be interested if people wanted to. From what I've read, I'm skeptical of the conclusions in the China Study, but I haven't found a lot of good sources where the two sides really address the arguments of the other in a way that I find satisfying (I've read the China Study, various critiques that struck me as pretty compelling, and dismissals that were not). I also know many mainstream nutritionists see correlations between health and limiting meat (or at least red meat). Walter Willett is one.
  • amorfati601070
    amorfati601070 Posts: 2,854 Member
    pzarnosky wrote: »
    Keep it up! :) I have been vegetarian for 3 years. My alergies went away, my weight is better and my cholesteral is 146. My doctor likes my bloodwork. I think we can also ask the question is eating meat unnessesary.

    I think this is the real question. Of course consuming meat can/does have nutritional benefits, I'm not entirely sure why that's being debated. But is it actually necessary in 2016 for us to eat meat? What can meat provide that plants cannot (or cannot substitute)?


    I agree with this. Meat does possess essential nutrients but as a complete package it has a lot of negative drawbacks. Cutting down on meat is always a good idea. Processed meats should be completely avoided as it is a class 1 carcinogen. Meat substitutes have come a long way and I hope they become even more mainstream.

    tz9ruekfdafr.jpg

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    pzarnosky wrote: »
    Keep it up! :) I have been vegetarian for 3 years. My alergies went away, my weight is better and my cholesteral is 146. My doctor likes my bloodwork. I think we can also ask the question is eating meat unnessesary.

    I think this is the real question. Of course consuming meat can/does have nutritional benefits, I'm not entirely sure why that's being debated. But is it actually necessary in 2016 for us to eat meat? What can meat provide that plants cannot (or cannot substitute)?


    I agree with this. Meat does possess essential nutrients but as a complete package it has a lot of negative drawbacks. Cutting down on meat is always a good idea. Processed meats should be completely avoided as it is a class 1 carcinogen. Meat substitutes have come a long way and I hope they become even more mainstream.

    tz9ruekfdafr.jpg

    That's sad fakeon.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    Generally speaking I don't see how anyone could say meat is unhealthy given the number of people that eat and have eaten meat. It's certainly not a necessity for health but as part of a balanced diet it's not unhealthy either.
  • ChristopherLimoges
    ChristopherLimoges Posts: 298 Member
    A judgement like this is entirely dependent on other circumstances. In general even, if meat is healthy, is dependent on consumption and excretion. If to be thought of respectively, like any other food items; sure, meat is healthy.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    pzarnosky wrote: »
    Keep it up! :) I have been vegetarian for 3 years. My alergies went away, my weight is better and my cholesteral is 146. My doctor likes my bloodwork. I think we can also ask the question is eating meat unnessesary.

    I think this is the real question. Of course consuming meat can/does have nutritional benefits, I'm not entirely sure why that's being debated. But is it actually necessary in 2016 for us to eat meat? What can meat provide that plants cannot (or cannot substitute)?


    I agree with this. Meat does possess essential nutrients but as a complete package it has a lot of negative drawbacks. Cutting down on meat is always a good idea. Processed meats should be completely avoided as it is a class 1 carcinogen. Meat substitutes have come a long way and I hope they become even more mainstream.

    tz9ruekfdafr.jpg

    That study was misrepresented by the media. If you actually read it it says if you eat bacon EVERY day it raises your colorectal cancer risk from 5% to 6 %. It doesn't say if you occasionally eat it you risk is higher.

    In addition, the "Class 1" quoted by the PP is misleading and possibly scare-mongering:
    IARC classifications describe the strength of the scientific evidence about an agent being a cause of cancer, rather than assessing the level of risk.

    Source: http://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/

    yup I am actually taking a medication on the class 1 list (azathioprine). yes there is a link between it and cancer but it's not that high really.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    pzarnosky wrote: »
    Keep it up! :) I have been vegetarian for 3 years. My alergies went away, my weight is better and my cholesteral is 146. My doctor likes my bloodwork. I think we can also ask the question is eating meat unnessesary.

    I think this is the real question. Of course consuming meat can/does have nutritional benefits, I'm not entirely sure why that's being debated. But is it actually necessary in 2016 for us to eat meat? What can meat provide that plants cannot (or cannot substitute)?


    I agree with this. Meat does possess essential nutrients but as a complete package it has a lot of negative drawbacks. Cutting down on meat is always a good idea. Processed meats should be completely avoided as it is a class 1 carcinogen. Meat substitutes have come a long way and I hope they become even more mainstream.

    tz9ruekfdafr.jpg

    That study was misrepresented by the media. If you actually read it it says if you eat bacon EVERY day it raises your colorectal cancer risk from 5% to 6 %. It doesn't say if you occasionally eat it you risk is higher.

    In addition, the "Class 1" quoted by the PP is misleading and possibly scare-mongering:
    IARC classifications describe the strength of the scientific evidence about an agent being a cause of cancer, rather than assessing the level of risk.

    Source: http://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/

    yup I am actually taking a medication on the class 1 list (azathioprine). yes there is a link between it and cancer but it's not that high really.

    I should also mention azathioprine is also on the WHO list of essential medications even though it's a group 1 carcinagen
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,325 Member
    Meat. healthy. yes.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    We are omnivores, so we are designed to eat meat...that's what these canine teeth are for.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    I don't see any one food as healthy or unhealthy it is the diet on the whole that matters. That said offal provides a lot of nutrients.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    People been eating meat for thousands of years and it hasn't killed off everyone.

    So I would say yes.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
    tlflag1620 wrote: »
    pzarnosky wrote: »
    Keep it up! :) I have been vegetarian for 3 years. My alergies went away, my weight is better and my cholesteral is 146. My doctor likes my bloodwork. I think we can also ask the question is eating meat unnessesary.

    I think this is the real question. Of course consuming meat can/does have nutritional benefits, I'm not entirely sure why that's being debated. But is it actually necessary in 2016 for us to eat meat? What can meat provide that plants cannot (or cannot substitute)?

    Cholesterol.

    Yes, yes, I know, I know, healthy young adult men are capable of making all the cholesterol they require, granted they get enough fat in their diets (so low fat vegan is a very bad idea; if you must do vegan, at least be sure to get adequate fats!). The question is, what if you are very young (immature liver and huge need for brain building cholesterol), very old (declining liver function and higher need for cellular repair- one of cholesterol's main jobs), a pregnant or lactating woman (increased cholesterol needs for growing another person's brain and nervous system, not to mention high hormone production - cholesterol is a precursor for every hormone in your body), have hepatitis or some other chronic liver condition? Are you absolutely sure you'd be able to make enough? Cholesterol is so utterly vital to get our existence, that yes, we make our own (otherwise we would quickly die, especially without a dietary source). Where do vegans get their cholesterol, especially when/if their ability to manufacture it gets compromised?

    This isn't a compelling argument to me. Obviously someone with a medical condition that precludes them from making cholesterol will need supplemental cholesterol from outside the body. This is no different than a type I diabetic who needs insulin because their body doesn't make it. You can't extrapolate medical conditions to make recommendations for healthy people.

    For the groups you mentioned, can you produce any documented cases of cholesterol deficiency? What were the outcomes?