DailyDirt: Eat Less Red Meat. Cows Rejoice!
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Recently, it seems like there are an increasing number of studies supporting the idea that eating too much red meat is bad for our health. Consumption of red meat has been linked to cancer, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cognitive decline, and the list goes on. Here are just a few more studies that will have cows dancing in the pasture.
- Two recent studies in mice and in humans suggest that a high-protein, high-fat diet may shorten our lifespan. Instead, we should probably be eating a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet (and settle with having more body fat as a result) — which is the complete opposite of popular diet fads, like the Atkins Diet. [url]
- Phew! Saturated fat and cholesterol may play only a small role in the increased incidence of heart disease in red-meat eaters. However, the bad news is that it turns out that our gut bacteria metabolize the chemical carnitine (which is present in large amounts in red meat and is also added to energy drinks), leading to the production of another chemical called TMAO that enters our blood stream and increases our risk of heart disease. Apparently, TMAO helps cholesterol enter artery walls and prevents the body from getting rid of excess cholesterol. [url]
- A Harvard study found that eating just a single serving of red meat each day could increase a person’s risk of death by 13%. While that may not change the minds of die-hard red meat fans who would rather die than give up red meat, it might be worth considering eating alternative (healthier?) protein sources. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: beef, cows, death, diet, food, health, heart disease, lifespan, meat, protein, red meat, vegetarian
Comments on “DailyDirt: Eat Less Red Meat. Cows Rejoice!”
sounds like an ad for Chik-Fil-A
I’m guessing there will be genetically engineered beef that is “low in carnitine” any minute now…
Screw that. You go eat leaves.
It’s ok that just means more red meat for me.
Risk of death?
“A Harvard study found that eating just a single serving of red meat each day could increase a person’s risk of death by 13%.”
So, now our risk of death is at 113%. Wow, that’s horrible!
Re: Risk of death?
You read that wrong. The persons they are talking about are the farmers and slaughter house workers. Lots of people killed by cows every year. Eat less meat, reduce workers to raise and butcher cows, lower a persons risk of death.
Re: Re: Cows won't like that
That’s true.
If we stop eating meat, all cows will be killed.
See: http://xkcd.com/1338/
I have a hard time believing this...
This seems completely out of nowhere and just seems to be pushing the agenda of vegetarian groups
hMMM!??
I wonder what mice eat, and WHY eating meat isnt the best thing for them..
2 things about BEEF FAT..If you knew 1/2 of what they do to cattle, you would run out to the nearest RANCH, and have it butchered and wrapped THERE, and not at the store..
Harvard? Coulda/woulda/???? lets check out WHERe they got the beef.
Re: hMMM!??
HARVARD…
do you read your OWN DATA, before trying to SCARE PEOPLE??
” and they climb even higher for people who eat processed meats like hot dogs and bacon.”
Someday scientists will figure out what I’ve known for years: that the peanut butter sandwich is the perfect food. Sounds like they’re getting closer, at least.
Re: Re:
pEANUT BUTTER NOT GOOD FOR YOU ANYMORE, SINCE THEY REMOVED THE PEANUT OIL, FINDING IT worth MORE THEN FEEDING IT TO YOU..
Re: Re: Re:
Now why don’t you explain why VS making the statement?
Here is a “why”:
One of the oils is cottonseed oil. Cotton is not a food crop so all kinds of ‘interesting’ chemicals are put on the crop to kill things. ‘Interesting’ translates into stuff that is not food rated as they were found not to be ‘safe’ for human consumption.
Re: Re: Re:
..peanut oil..
Costco has peanut butter with peanut oil and salt (the only ingredients). At least they say it’s peanut oil – in the interest of science and research I’ve tasted a great deal, because someone has to. They also sell humungous containers of peanut oil for cooking. Oh yum.
Re: Re: Re: Re:
When I was growing up, I never heard of anyone being allergic to peanuts. Now you hear allergic to peanuts, allergic to peanuts, allergic to peanuts all the time. Come to find out peanut oil is being put in childrens’ vaccines. Could that have something to do with it, I wonder?
Re: Re: Re:2 Re:
Extremely unlikely. Especially considering that peanut oil is not, in fact, used in vaccines. Research into such use was done in the ’60s, but it has never been used vaccines used by the public.
Re: Re: You would think,but apparently not.
No. Peanut Butter is dangerous because everyone has deadly peanut allergies now. If you send a PB&J sandwich to school, the allergen gestapo will likely come in with guns blazing.
It’s getting to the point where they don’t think anything is safe to eat.
You know who else ate red meat?
Genghis Khan!
And look at what he did in life!
Eat meat and become like Genghis Khan, kids!
Weaagan agit
Plus editor fail equals
Bad Joyce no biscuit
Why should anyone assume one size fits all when discussing diet? Genetic susceptibility and evolution for a population’s environment surely play a part.
Anyway, my grandmother lived to 98 eating fullfat cheese, butter, bacon, roast meat & potatoes and drinking full fat milk. She was never overweight and was healthy up until the time that she was just worn out. Maybe food sources are not so good for us as they were a few decades ago and maybe that explains a heck of a lot. Anyway anecdote is data, I say so.
Politically Motivated Nonsense.
That one about protein was a hoot of course. If you are eating less protein then you’re eating more of something else. That something else could be rather harmful. So these radical vegans are basically pushing the idea that you should be eating lower quality meat (higher fat) or lots of junk foods (extra carbs, especially sugar).
That’s just the way the numbers work. Pretty obvious really when you aren’t afraid of the math.
Cows taste good.
That Harvard study
Despite the hyperbolic reporting, the study does not say that a single serving of red meat is harmful. It says that a long term meat-heavy diet is harmful. It recommends eating only moderate amounts of red meat.
Let's see, a high carb low protein diet is better for health
Tell that to the obese majority in the US and Australia who are a massive burden on our health systems. I don’t see those on a cutting diet end up in hospital with heart disease.
Fat people justifying their fat ways.
Heinlein was Right (or someone else)
Heinlein (or maybe Theodore Sturgeon or Asimov or someone) said that 90% of science fiction is crap, then again 90% of everything is crap. It turns out that it’s true of medical research, and probably everything else. 90% of it is wrong. Just think, once you realize this, you’ll only have to do a tenth of the reading you do. This information should be at the head of every article about everything. Someone should make a t-shirt that says “Welcome to the 90%.” If i’m debating someone, I can now proudly claim that not only are they wrong, it’s likely that I am, too.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-and-medical-science/308269/2/