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Meat has become more and more controversial of late.
Some say its damaging effects are on par with smoking, and others even claim we should apply a special “health tax” on meat-eaters.
The contrarians say meat has a number of positive health benefits, very few downsides, and most of the research showing otherwise is on low-quality processed meats.
And others take a middle-of-the-road outlook and say meat might cause some health problems in large amounts, but it’s healthy in moderation.
Looking at the scientific evidence only further muddies the waters.
If you look online, you’ll find some studies that seem to show meat is bad for you, some studies that show it’s benign, and others that seem to show it’s good for you.
In the past few years, though, the pendulum of public opinion has swung hard in the “meat is bad for you” direction, largely thanks to several position statements from major health authorities.
Who’s right?
Well, the short answer is meat probably isn’t as bad for you as many news outlets claim, and reducing your intake of meat probably won’t make a big difference in your health.
That said, it’s also fair to say eating as much processed or fatty meat as you want probably isn’t good for you, either.
Ready for the long answer?
Let’s kick things off by looking at exactly what meat is, then we’ll get into the case for and against eating it.
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Time Stamps:
4:25 – What is lean and processed red meat?
4:40 – Should I be eating red meat?
Mentioned on The Show:
What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
+ Scientific References
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- Pedersen JI, James PT, Brouwer IA, et al. The importance of reducing SFA to limit CHD. Br J Nutr. 2011;106(7):961-963. doi:10.1017/S000711451100506X
- Johnston BC, Zeraatkar D, Han MA, et al. Unprocessed Red Meat and Processed Meat Consumption: Dietary Guideline Recommendations From the Nutritional Recommendations (NutriRECS) Consortium. Ann Intern Med. October 2019. doi:10.7326/m19-1621
- Siri-Tarino PW, Sun Q, Hu FB, Krauss RM. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;91(3):535-546. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.27725
- Temple NJ. Fat, sugar, whole grains and heart disease: 50 years of confusion. Nutrients. 2018;10(1). doi:10.3390/nu10010039
- Zheng Y, Li Y, Satija A, et al. Association of changes in red meat consumption with total and cause specific mortality among US women and men: Two prospective cohort studies. BMJ. 2019;365. doi:10.1136/bmj.l2110
- van den Brandt PA. Red meat, processed meat, and other dietary protein sources and risk of overall and cause-specific mortality in The Netherlands Cohort Study. Eur J Epidemiol. 2019;34(4):351-369. doi:10.1007/s10654-019-00483-9
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- Ponnampalam EN, Mann NJ, Sinclair AJ. Effect of feeding systems on omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid and trans fatty acids in Australian beef cuts: Potential impact on human health. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2006;15(1):21-29. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16500874. Accessed December 2, 2019.
- Poudyal H, Panchal SK, Diwan V, Brown L. Omega-3 fatty acids and metabolic syndrome: Effects and emerging mechanisms of action. Prog Lipid Res. 2011;50(4):372-387. doi:10.1016/j.plipres.2011.06.003
- Smith GI, Atherton P, Reeds DN, et al. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids augment the muscle protein anabolic response to hyperinsulinaemia-hyperaminoacidaemia in healthy young and middle-aged men and women. Clin Sci. 2011;121(6):267-278. doi:10.1042/CS20100597
- Du S, Jin J, Fang W, Su Q. Does fish oil have an anti-obesity effect in overweight/obese adults? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS One. 2015;10(11). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142652
- Buckley JD, Howe PRC. Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may be beneficial for reducing obesity-a review. Nutrients. 2010;2(12):1212-1230. doi:10.3390/nu2121212
- Innis SM. Dietary omega 3 fatty acids and the developing brain. Brain Res. 2008;1237:35-43. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2008.08.078
- Kalmijn S, Van Boxtel MPJ, Ocké M, Verschuren WMM, Kromhout D, Launer LJ. Dietary intake of fatty acids and fish in relation to cognitive performance at middle age. Neurology. 2004;62(2):275-280. doi:10.1212/01.WNL.0000103860.75218.A5
- Parker G, Gibson NA, Brotchie H, Heruc G, Rees AM, Hadzi-Pavlovic D. Omega-3 fatty acids and mood disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163(6):969-978. doi:10.1176/ajp.2006.163.6.969
- Wall R, Ross RP, Fitzgerald GF, Stanton C. Fatty acids from fish: The anti-inflammatory potential of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Nutr Rev. 2010;68(5):280-289. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00287.x
- Virtanen JK, Mursu J, Voutilainen S, Uusitupa M, Tuomainen TP. Serum omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of incident type 2 diabetes in men: The kuopio ischemic heart disease risk factor study. Diabetes Care. 2014;37(1):189-196. doi:10.2337/dc13-1504
- He K, Rimm EB, Merchant A, et al. Fish consumption and risk of stroke in men. J Am Med Assoc. 2002;288(24):3130-3136. doi:10.1001/jama.288.24.3130
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- De Biase SG, Fernandes SFC, Gianini RJ, Duarte JLG. Vegetarian diet and cholesterol and triglycerides levels. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2007;88(1):32-36. doi:10.1590/S0066-782X2007000100006
- Gilsing AMJ, Crowe FL, Lloyd-Wright Z, et al. Serum concentrations of vitamin B12 and folate in British male omnivores, vegetarians and vegans: Results from a cross-sectional analysis of the EPIC-Oxford cohort study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010;64(9):933-939. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2010.142
- Craig WJ. Health effects of vegan diets. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89(5):1627S-1633S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.26736N
- Vanacore D, Messina G, Lama S, et al. Effect of restriction vegan diet’s on muscle mass, oxidative status, and myocytes differentiation: A pilot study. J Cell Physiol. 2018;233(12):9345-9353. doi:10.1002/jcp.26427
- Aubertin-Leheudre M, Adlercreutz H. Relationship between animal protein intake and muscle mass index in healthy women. Br J Nutr. 2009;102(12):1803-1810. doi:10.1017/S0007114509991310
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- Tang JE, Phillips SM. Maximizing muscle protein anabolism: The role of protein quality. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2009;12(1):66-71. doi:10.1097/MCO.0b013e32831cef75
- Jackson J, Williams R, McEvoy M, MacDonald-Wicks L, Patterson A. Is higher consumption of animal flesh foods associated with better iron status among adults in developed countries? A systematic review. Nutrients. 2016;8(2). doi:10.3390/nu8020089
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