IS RED MEAT SAFE: A NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS THE CHANGING NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

IS RED MEAT SAFE: A NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS THE CHANGING NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

csty : Vice.com

Meat through the centuries was seen as the luxury good of the past.  Only the rich could afford it, at least the red meat variety.  For a very long time, red meat was eaten sparingly, with other meats and legumes taking its place on the table of most people.

As late as 1918, during the Spanish influenza, most people could not purchase meat readily, and the two wars worsened an already difficult situation of food scarcity.  

So after the wars, when people in two continents went through an economic boom, red meat became the most coveted food choice.  Meat, it seemed, had become the lynchpin of the American and European diet.  

But was this surge just a symptom of the economic boom, or was its adoption a wish to fulfill desires long pent up to share in what was the richest strata of the population's favorite food?  

Whatever the cause, meat had become a predominant staple after WWII and it has yet to be supplanted by other forms of protein.  

However, the alarm on its indiscriminate assumption has been long ringing from the medial community.  Aside from the fact that meat today is not what it was 60 years ago, due to the advent of mass farming practices, the portions adopted by most today far exceed the daily needs of a person.

A new study, detailed in the New York Times, has brought to light the increasing health problem wrought by eating too much read meat.  Indeed the study has focused on the higher incidence of cancer and heart disease in assiduous meat eaters.

A decade-long study of more than half million men and women between 50 and 71 has consolidated much of the suspicions already raised by the medical community in the past.

During the study, 47,976 men and 23,276 died.  The study then compiled data on the reason of death for the deceased members.  

What the study found was that the rate of mortality due to eating meat was higher by 20-40% in those people who ate who ate a predominantly red meat diet.  

Indeed after the study extrapolated the numbers and applied it to the population at large,  an assessment of more than a million preventable deaths in a decade that were attributable to high red meat consumption was made. 

One suggestion from the study is that people reduce consumption of red meat to once or twice a week, at most, and the consumption of nitrite filled meats to only once a month. Substituting white meat seemed to reduce the risk significantly, and even more the risk was diminished in those who ate plenty of fruits and vegetables.  

The mass production of red meat is more than just a health concern.  As a noted sociologist pointed out recently, nations who are intensive red meat eaters also are the worst polluters, since the raising of cattle in mass farming ventures increases dramatically the use of pesticides by 37%, the use of antibiotics by 50%, and causes a 33% increase in fertilizer in the waterways.  Additionally, cattle raising contributes to soil erosion by 55%.

One of the things the study also focused on was whether the meat itself was the culprit of the higher mortality, or concomitant factors in people's lifestyles played an active role.  The study did reveal that high quantity meat eaters were also more likely to smoke and drink or lead unhealthy lifestyles.  But the study, even after weeding out these factors, found that the meat itself, or rather the high level of saturated fats in meat are the primary cause of the increased mortality. 

Another issue raised by the study was that changing the protein type, i.e. switching to white meat, also lowered the mortality rate.  

Additionally, what the study found was that when red meat was cooked at high temperatures such as grilling and broiling, carcinogens formed on its surface.  Processed meats, which contain nitrosamines were also found to be a factor in higher cancer incidence.  However, there are now processed meats that are processed without the use of nitrites available for sale.  

Red meat was also found to cause a higher incidence of prostate cancer.

The study also advises men to eat fatty fish twice a week, which was found to reduce the risks of cancer and cardiovascular incidence  by 50%.

Source: the New York Times 4.28.09