BLOG 87 RED MEAT

BLOG 87 RED MEAT

Eating red meat has been a controversial nutrition topic for many years. Is it good or bad for us?? And let me tell you in my research there didn’t seem to be an unbiased opinion; so I will just have to present both sides. Like anything, there seems to be benefits and risks so let’s look at both.

Our ancestors definitely ate red meat, but we have to admit the meat we eat today probably is not the same as what they had. The roaming cows of today are certainly not on an all-natural diet like they used to be. And now not all red meat is created equal. Various types include processed, organic, grass-fed, and then the conventional farm raised.

Red meat has a lot of nutritional value. In fact, “It is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and various other nutrients that can have profound effects on health.

A 100 gram (3.5 ounces) portion of raw ground beef (10% fat) contains (3):

• Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 25% of the RDA.
• Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin): 37% of the RDA (this vitamin is unattainable from plant foods).
• Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine): 18% of the RDA.
• Iron: 12% of the RDA (This is high quality heme-iron, which is absorbed much better than iron from plants).
• Zinc: 32% of the RDA.
• Selenium: 24% of the RDA.

(https://authoritynutrition.com/is-red-meat-bad-for-you-or-good/). 

However, there are a number of risks when it comes to red meat. To start, “A compound found in red meat (and even used as an additive in some energy drinks) called carnitine has been found to cause atherosclerosis, the hardening or clogging of the arteries, according to a study published in the journal, Nature Medicine. Researchers found that increased carnitine levels predicted increased risks for cardiovascular disease” (http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/10-reasons-to-stop-eating-red-meat/slide/2). The pink slime topic is what got me: “The meat industry refers to it as ‘lean finely textured beef (LFTB),’ but the public knows it as pink slime. This meat additive contains fatty bits of leftover meat that’s heated, spun to remove the fat, and then treated with ammonia gas to kill bacteria. It’s then shipped off to grocery stores and meat packers, where the slime is added to ground beef (70% of supermarket ground beef contains the additive). And the ammonia treatment may allow pathogens into the food supply” (http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/10-reasons-to-stop-eating-red-meat/slide/4).  

E coli is also a risk when eating red meat, especially those hamburgers. Bottom line is that when you are having a burger you might be eating a little meat from up to 10,000 cows. Imagine the risk of E coli. There are additional risks for women: “Hormones added to red meat boost breast cancer risk, according to a large study of more than 90,000 women published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Women who ate more than 1.5 servings (approximately 6 ounces) of red meat per day had nearly double the risk of developing hormone-sensitive breast cancer than women who ate 3 or fewer servings per week” (http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/10-reasons-to-stop-eating-red-meat/slide/11).

Moderation is the key as we have learned on our fitness journeys. I grew up not eating red meat and still don’t to this day. I don’t think I have ever even had a steak haha, and that’s just because mom and dad made ground turkey everything. So there’s an underlying factor that makes me not eat red meat, I just never have so why start now. Protein and iron are good for us and quite everything has its risks these days. So you can make your red meat decision and whatever it may be, just stick to portion control and it seems like you should be just fine.