Red meat, red flag?
WITH the recent hot weather many families have been turning to the barbecue at meal times. This kind of cooking may appear healthy, but the often meat-heavy menus can hide hidden health dangers.
It’s recommended that we eat no more than 70g of processed or red meat a day. But what evidence is there to support this and is there more to this than ‘meats’ the eye?
MEATY ISSUE
THE International Agency for Research on Cancer states that people who eat a predominantly processed-meat diet are at a higher risk of developing cancer than people who mostly eat red meat.
Processed meats, those which have been ‘transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation’ are classed as a ‘class 1 carcinogen’ (the same level as cigarettes!).
Red meat and offal from beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse or goat is classed as ‘Class 2a’.
Red meat is considered less of a health risk, but there is still, in theory, increased cancer risk for people who eat a lot of it.
The government doesn’t differentiate between the red and processed meats and recommends we reduce consumption of both.
RISKS AND BENEFITS
RATHER than saying all red meat is bad, we need to look at the risks and benefits of including it in our diet.
Eating lots of red meat seems to be linked with an increased risk of bowel cancer. As red meat also contains more saturated fat than white meat and fish, too much can raise blood cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease.
However, meat is a valuable source of protein and cutting it out completely might have a negative effect on some peoples’ health.
Red meat provides us with iron and zinc, as well as being a main source of vitamin B12, all of which are essential for good health.
If you do decide to reduce the amount of red meat you eat, ensure that you replace it with foods rich in iron, zinc and B12 in order to avoid any drop in levels.
GP Dr Sarah Jarvis MBE is the clinical director at trusted health website www.patient.info