The Short Answer: How much meat to eat? Between the choices of none, a little, or lots, we find ourselves in the middle. Eat a little, but don’t feel bad if others disagree. This is one subject that will always be contentious.
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Where We Stand
Our last post advocated eating meat “sparingly.” It also discussed the movie Forks Over Knives, which argued for a vegan (no meat or animal products) lifestyle, though described as “whole foods, plant-based.” Terms like vegan or vegetarian invoke an unfavorable image, it seems, and were avoided in the movie.
Not wanting to slight the pro-meat group, this week I read about two opposing documentaries. The first is called Fat Head (available as a DVD), the other, a more serious effort not yet released, is In Search of the Perfect Human Diet. You’ll recall that the Atkin’s Diet advocated a meat-based, low-carb diet, but that was yesterday; today it’s called the Paleo diet and seems to be favored by young men who like to argue.
Does it seem to you that women are more often vegetarians, while men are most likely to be carnivores (though they prefer the term omnivores)? I spend a couple of hours reading blog comments as the two sides battled with each other, often guy against girl, and found that they do agree on one thing: The standard American diet (known as SAD) is the main cause of our current poor health.
So there’s this triangle. In their respective corners are the plant-eaters, the meat-eaters, and the factory food-eaters (SAD). Where are we? In the middle, writing menus based on vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts and a little meat, all minimally processed and home-cooked. It’s a good place.
Does Meat Cause Cancer?
You hear this accusation so I checked the science. Chronic diseases like cancer are multi-factorial; you can’t blame them on one thing. So the better question is do meats add to your cancer risk? Studies have taken issue with two meat groups: red meat, and processed meats (which is mainly red meat unless you like turkey sausage). The NIH-AARP study—a long-term, prospective study mainly focused on whites over fifty—is the largest recent study. It’s conclusion: “. . . a diet high in red or processed meat was associated with an elevated risk of both colorectal and lung cancer; in addition, red meat was associated with an elevated risk of esophageal and liver cancer. A decrease in the consumption of red and processed meat could reduce the incidence of cancer at multiple sites.” The range of increased risk was roughly 20-60%, which says that to avoid cancer, you need to do more than just reduce your meat intake. (Incidentally, a surprise finding showed meat protective of ovarian cancer.)
Meat-eaters may dispute these findings, arguing that pastured meat is less risky than feedlot meat, which makes sense; or that processed or charbroiled meats are more carcinogenic than stewed meat, which also makes sense. There are other intervening variables: Those who eat the most red meat were less educated, less physically active, ate fewer fruits and vegetables, more overweight, and were more likely to have smoked. It’s not just about the meat—there seems to be a meat-eating lifestyle.
Heart disease?
A Harvard meta-study linked heart disease and diabetes to processed meat intake. Unprocessed red meat was NOT shown to increase risk. (A meta-study looks at all the related, qualified studies and uses statistics to find broad conclusions. In this case 1600 studies were reviewed, and 20 were qualified for inclusion.) The Harvard finding: Each 50-gram daily intake of processed meats adds 42% to your heart disease risk, and 19% to your type-2 diabetes risk. Eating one serving a week had a relatively small risk, so you don’t have to completely cut out pastrami sandwiches. (Note: 50 grams is almost two ounces, about the amount of meat in a sandwich.)
Other Meat Issues
The Western societies made some serious mistakes with the industrialization of our food supply which we are now trying to remedy. This blog is not anti-meat, as you well know—our motto might be: Less meat, but better. Here is some more fallout from industrialized meat:
• “E. Coli Outbreak in Europe Should Be Warning for Americans.” That’s the title of a well-written Fox News report by Dr. M. Alvarez about the current outbreak in Germany of a new and unusually virulent E. Coli outbreak (over 1600 cases, 499 kidney failures, and 18 deaths, many among women, thus far). Cucumbers from Spain were first suspected as the source, perhaps wrongly. But E. Coli is actually a feedlot problem—cattle fattened on grains have an unnaturally acidic stomach compared to grass-fed cows and the E. Coli mutations thrive in the acid environment.
• There are other disease issues with industrialized meat production: Mad cow disease (in humans new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or vCJD) has dropped off the radar but is this due to closed eyes or disappearance? Antibiotic-resistant Staph. aureus. is another problem. One group, Translational Genomics Research Institute, found that ¼ of the meat and poultry in stores to be contaminated with antibiotic resistant S. aureus.
• The inhumane treatment of animals disturbs caring people also. Animal cruelty can happen anywhere, but the larger animal confinement operations, as portrayed in the media, are especially troubling.
• Environmental issues with CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) have also been in the news. Here’s one expert’s view: “the best thing you can do for the environment is to eat less meat.”
Our Fifteen Minutes
Some of you alert readers have noticed our family in the June issue of Martha Stewart Living, which has been out a couple of weeks. The lead story is about family reunions and was filmed at the century-old home in tiny Midway, Utah where my wife’s father grew up. The picture above is me in story-telling mode; if it's not about nutrition, then it must be family history stories. The message of the article (10 pages, mind you) is about the importance of family reunions. They're part of what makes families strong. And strong families are more capable of finding the diet that is most healthy for them. If you hold reunions, good; if not, think about adding them to your family traditions.
Please comment: We're looking for more ideas on what you need to improve your family's nutrition and health.
Photos by Francesco Lagnese for Martha Stewart Living