White Meat has Red Meat Beat
You might want to stop waving the red meat police away as lunatics and welcome white meat to your dietary family instead. A huge new study (spanning ten years so you know it’s the good kind) confirms that diets high in red meat and processed meat appear to increase our risk of premature death. Nothing news right? but wait! white meat came out looking pretty pure and appears to actually lower the risk for early death.
The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, involved more than 545,000 people, ages 50 to 71. The result- those who eat diets high in red meat and processed meats were found to have an increased risk of death from all causes, as well as from cancer or heart disease. One can’t help but think that this is mostly because people who eat red, eat red for life, and vice versa with white meat, but still if white meat is found to actually protect against DEATH, isn’t it worth a shot?
Participants in the study were followed for ten years and they documented their intake of red meat. The crimson carnivores had to define red meat consumption in all ways: all types of beef, pork and processed meats made with red meat ,such as sausage and bacon. This also includes things made with red meat like lasagne, chilli or…..fajitas. White meat included chicken, turkey, and fish and included processed meats made from poultry, such as turkey sausage.
So how much is a lot of red meat to eat? About 5 oz. of red meat a day, roughly the equivalent of a small steak or a large hamburger, every day is considered a lot. Instead of having a hamburger for lunch and a steak for dinner, trade one meaty meal in for a salad or veggie burger (bake it don’t fry it). You’ll have cut your red meat intake in half just by making a simple switch and keep researchers at bay.
The researchers found that the one-fifth of men and women who ate the most red meat had a higher risk for overall premature death, from heart disease to cancer; compared to the one-fifth of men and women who ate only a little red meat.
Women who chowed down on red meat regularly actually had more of an increased risk of dying prematurely than men- 36 percent more of a chance while men, only 31 percent.
Why Bother, and how to cut back:
-Researchers in this particular study say red meat is a major source of saturated fat- cancer-causing compounds can be formed during high-temperature cooking of meat, so cook it light if you eat it at all.
- It’s cheaper to eat less meat, have a gander at your grocery bill before and after you decrease the amount of red meat you buy. Replace a steak with a can of tuna- you might find it helps the budget.
