An interesting study was published in Internal Medicine titled “Meat Intake and Mortality: A Prospective Study of Over Half a Million”. This is the first large scale analysis to examine the relationship between eating meat to ones risk of early death. A lot of research in the past has found links with high red meat intake and increased risk of colorectal cancer and heart disease but no study has been as comprehensive as this latest study.
The study carried out over 10 years included more then 500,000 Americans aged between 50 to 71. Some of the findings where that people who ate 4 ounces of red meat daily (about a small hamburger) where 31 percent (men) and 36 percent (women) more likely to die. Those who ate more white meat where 8 percent less likely to die.
Here are some reasons why scientists think eating too much red meat may increase morbidity rates:
- The high temperature cooking of steak produces cancer causing compounds
- Red meat is high in saturated fat. Saturated fats have been associated with with cancer
- The high cholesterol content also increases blood pressure and the risk of heart disease
The suggestion from the study is that we should be eating more white meats such as fish and chicken. Chicken contains unsaturated fat which helps to improve cholesterol levels. Fish is even better as it contains a lot of omega-3 fatty acids which are known to reduce the risk of heart disease.
The question remains why don’t indigenous aboriginal peoples who hunt and eat large quantities of red meat suffer from western diseases? I think this can be partially answered by the fact that wild game contains a lot more omega-3 fatty acids when compared to livestock animals. But this would require further study.
As well as the health benefits there are a number of other benefits to society if we all eat less red meat. Large scale livestock production requires a lot of water, and energy and has a major impact in increasing greenhouse gas emissions. It also requires more and more pastures resulting in large scale rain forest destruction. A report in natural news show that cattle raised for beef actually cause more damage than emissions from cars.
All in all there would be significant benefits in terms of health care costs and reductions in global warming if we all made a decision to cut back on our red meat intake.
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About Danny Sheehan
Danny lives in Hong Kong but is originally from Australia. He is Married to Maggie and together they have two children with whom they enjoy sharing and enjoying an exciting life with daily. Danny's passions are freedom, adventure and discovery, mainly in nature and science but also spiritually. He is a great believer in living in the NOW.
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December 29, 2011 at 12:45 pm
The numbers keep rising with obesity in children and in adults and the main two factors are poor nutrition and lack of exercise. If we do not stop obesity now, the future looks costly and deadly.
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