Red meat is not a health risk

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Bruce Stephens

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Probably, anyway. Or not nearly as big a health risk as suggested.

bigthink.com

Red meat is not a health risk. New study slams years of shoddy research

Red meat has been linked to all sorts of adverse health outcomes. But a new study shows that the associations are weak or nonexistent.
bigthink.com bigthink.com

www.nature.com

Health effects associated with consumption of unprocessed red meat: a Burden of Proof study - Nature Medicine

Using the burden of proof analytical tool, a meta-analysis found weak or no evidence of associations between unprocessed red meat consumption and increased risk of six cardiometabolic disease and cancer outcomes.
www.nature.com www.nature.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1658686148628344832
 
It is pretty risky for the animals that provide the meat 🙄

Don't worry I am being facetious and not pushing a plant-based diet!
It is just my weird humour.
 
There again, would any number of those animals we actually eat, have ever been bred in the first place were it not for the meat trade? Always remember listening to some silly woman telling all and sundry in earshot that it was OK to eat meat as long as the animal had had a happy life.
 
Don't take any heed of scare stories around foods anyway, one day something is bad next day not so, no food is bad in my book so don't exclude it completely unless don't like taste.
 
My naive reading of the summary graph ...

41591_2022_1968_Fig4_HTML.png


... is that it's saying "Ummm dunno". That's a wide 95% UI, when they mash all those disparate studies together using their ninja statistical methods.

My other, generic reaction is to look a bit quizzical at any food study that doesn't address the instead-of-what question.

But fwiw the conclusion doesn't seem implausible:

In other words, given all the data available on red meat intake and risk of a subsequent outcome, we estimate that consuming unprocessed red meat across an average range of exposure levels increases the risk of subsequent colorectal cancer, breast cancer, IHD and type 2 diabetes at least slightly compared to eating no red meat (by at least 6%, 3%, 1% and 1%, respectively). Furthermore, the conservative interpretation of available data is consistent with no association between consuming unprocessed red meat and the risk of subsequent ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke.
 
That's me back on the Five Guys then!


Er, that sounds wrong.
 
Eddy Edson said:
we estimate that consuming unprocessed red meat across an average range of exposure levels increases the risk of subsequent colorectal cancer, breast cancer, IHD and type 2 diabetes at least slightly compared to eating no red meat (by at least 6%, 3%, 1% and 1%, respectively).
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‘unprocessed red meat’…

This is the standout for me.

The ‘be careful amount red meat’ stories always seem to have red meat in the headline but really be talking about nitrites, additives and highly processed products sausages, kebabs, mechanically-reclaimed burgers - rather than a nice joint from your organic farm shop butcher
 
There's a difference between how those in plants and those added to processed meat are processed by the body.
The problem isn't with the nitrates, but the reactions that take place when they are eaten.
 
As I understand it (not all that well) nitrates can occur naturally in veg, but are added as a preservative / colour improver in meats.

Nitrates can be broken down into nitrites through oxidation, and there are concerns over eating too many artificially added nitrates and health risks inc bowel cancer.

From https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-nitrates …

Studies suggest that eating foods rich in natural nitrates can help reduce your risk of a number of chronic health conditions, whereas eating foods high in added nitrates can cause health risks.

Foods With Added Nitrates​

Many processed meats are high in nitrates. While these nitrates are useful for preserving and improving the color of food, they are not good for your health. Many studies recommend that vitamin C be added to cured meats high in nitrates to prevent the formation of harmful nitrite compounds. These 4 foods are some of the worst offenders for added nitrates:

  1. Ham
    Ham is often the highest source of dietary nitrates. A single 100 g serving of cured ham has as much as 900 mcg of nitrites. This is the source of the iconic pink color of cured hams.
  2. Bacon
    Bacon has up to 380 mcg of nitrites per 100 g of weight. It’s also incredibly high in 5.5. mg nitrites. Nitrates and nitrites tend to be pervasive in bacon production, which leads some brands to label their packaging as nitrite-free. Nitrite-free bacon was tested as having nearly double the amount of nitrates, at up to 680 mcg per 100 g.
  3. Deli Meat
    Deli meat is another major source of harmful nitrates. Cured deli meats on average have up to 500 mcg of nitrates per 100 g of meat, while uncured deli meats have about 300 mcg in the same amount of meat.
  4. Hot Dogs
    Hot dogs are one of the most processed sources of meat on the market. The average hot dog contains about 50 mcg of nitrites per 100 g of meat, which carries about 9 mg of nitrates.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
As I understand it (not all that well) nitrates can occur naturally in veg, but are added as a preservative / colour improver in meats.
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So the same chemical is beneficial in veg and harmful in meat because it's "added" hmmmm.

All the studies are the usual 'associational' nonsense.
 
bulkbiker said:
So the same chemical is beneficial in veg and harmful in meat because it's "added" hmmmm.

All the studies are the usual 'associational' nonsense.
Click to expand...
Isn’t it a case of whether the Nitrates and/or Nitrites turn into Nitrosamines, which are harmful? It used to confuse me about them being harmful and not harmful, but I'm sure I read somewhere that cooking bacon etc at higher temperatures needed for meat cookery, in the presence of the amino acids contained in the meat was more likely to produce nitrosamines, than cooking veg.
Don't ask me for a reference, I can’t remember where I read it, but having a quick Google produced a Healthline article that contained a simplified version.
www.healthline.com

Are Nitrates and Nitrites in Foods Harmful?

People often see nitrates and nitrites as harmful, but this may not always be true. Vegetables, for example, can be rich in nitrates.
www.healthline.com www.healthline.com
 
Interesting find @Robin

And I agree @bulkbiker - it does seem almost deliberately contrary.

Still, at least ’good‘ minimally processed meat, steaks etc, seem to get the thumbs up 🙂
 
Robin said:
Isn’t it a case of whether the Nitrates and/or Nitrites turn into Nitrosamines, which are harmful? It used to confuse me about them being harmful and not harmful, but I'm sure I read somewhere that cooking bacon etc at higher temperatures needed for meat cookery, in the presence of the amino acids contained in the meat was more likely to produce nitrosamines, than cooking veg.
Don't ask me for a reference, I can’t remember where I read it, but having a quick Google produced a Healthline article that contained a simplified version.
www.healthline.com

Are Nitrates and Nitrites in Foods Harmful?

People often see nitrates and nitrites as harmful, but this may not always be true. Vegetables, for example, can be rich in nitrates.
www.healthline.com www.healthline.com
Click to expand...
Very interesting and helpful.

Unfortunately then, it's the (flame grill/frying) cooking that gives the great taste, that ultimately is bad for your health.

Does this suggest that boiled meats would be safe as they are cooked at lower temperatures which don't covert nitrates to nitrites? Boiled ham for example.
 
Amity Island said:
Unfortunately then, it's the (flame grill/frying) cooking that gives the great taste, that ultimately is bad for your health.
Click to expand...

Too true! It’s always the good stuff that ends up being bad for you o_O

Amity Island said:
Boiled ham for example.
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Though ham is often highest in nitrites (to get the pink colour) - see #10

I guess it’s another of those ‘everything in moderation’ things?

As @nonethewiser said, if you avoided everything that was reported to be bad and or environmentally unsustainable there’d be nothing left to eat!
 
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everydayupsanddowns said:
Too true! It’s always the good stuff that ends up being bad for you o_O



Though ham is often highest in nitrites (to get the pink colour) - see #10

I guess it’s another of those ‘everything in moderation’ things?

As @nonethewiser said, if you avoided everything that was reported to be bad and or environmentally unsustainable there’d be nothing left to eat!
Click to expand...
I did see a documentary once following a family that ate all their meat (chicken, beef, pork etc) raw. Apparently, the gut does get used to all the bacteria etc and becomes immune to it. Eating things raw does seem like a good idea in that it maintains all the vitamins etc, not sure about meat though.
 
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