Red Meat and You're Dead Meat?

Red Meat and You're Dead Meat? (from about.com)

Thursday March 26, 2009

A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine states that people who eat lots of red meat and/or processed meat may die sooner than people who eat much less red meat. It's an interesting study and very large, with over 600,000 participants, who according to the researchers, tended to eat better than the general population of the United States. The participants filled out surveys to describe their dietary intakes.

The researchers placed men and women each into five groups based on how much red meat or processed meat they ate. The groups with the big-time meat eaters and processed meat eaters had the most deaths. The groups with the lowest red meat and processed meat consumption had the least number of deaths. The researchers concluded that about 11 to 16 percent of deaths could be prevented if everyone cut back their red meat and processed meat consumption to the level of the lowest study groups, or about 9 grams protein for every 1000 calories consumed (for reference, a hamburger patty has about 20 grams protein).

Some things to think about with a a study like this:

The groups that ate the most red meat and processed meats also had the highest smoking rates, although the researchers did their best to factor smoking out of the final statistics.

The groups with the least red meat consumption also ate the most fiber, fruits and vegetables, which we know are good for your health, irrespective of whether you eat red meat or not.

White meat consumption also included fish, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids
If the researchers are right, they could be underestimating things, because the general population of the US eats worse than the members of this study group.

Like I said. Interesting stuff.

So does mean you should never touch another filet mignon? No, the increase in deaths in this study was modest, not super-huge, however, you probably should cut back on the red meat and change your cooking methods

. Red meat isn't all bad for you -- it's a good source of zinc, vitamin B12 and iron. But red meat and processed meats are high in saturated fats that clog your arteries and increase inflammation. Cooking meat at high temperatures or char-broiling until it turns black creates heterocyclic amines, N-nitroso compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are cancer causing agents. Cured or smoked processed meats usually contain nitrites that are also converted to N-nitroso compounds. Oh, and the iron in the red meat makes the conversion to N-nitroso compounds even worse.

Okay, so you love your red meat and you don't want to give it up, what do you do?

Limit red meat consumption to 2 to 3 times per week
Cut back on portion size for red meat -- one serving is about the size of a deck of cards
Look for cured meats that don't contain nitrites
Eat more fish, seafood or vegetarian meals
Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables
Follow a Mediterranean Diet
So remember that red meat can be a part of your diet, but it shouldn't be at the top of your list of most consumed foods.