The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Red meat could actually protect Scots from cancer – not cause it
HOW can meat, a food that we’ve been eating for millennia, a food that made the human race what it is, one of the most nutrient-dense sources of sustenance available, be bad for us? In evolutionary terms, this assumption defies reason, yet the European
Commission is reviewing its funding of promotional campaigns for red meat and processed meat on the grounds that its consumption might be linked to cancer. What’s the evidence for this proposition?
Some epidemiological (observational) studies have posited an association between intake of red and processed meats and slightly increased incidence of colorectal cancer.
But epidemiological research is the weakest standard of scientific evidence. Based on extrapolation of statistics, it is more prone to bias than robust randomised controlled trials or intervention studies.
Saying that meat is “associated” with cancer is quite different from stating that meat causes cancer.
A person who eats meat three times a day might rarely exercise, suffer from stress, eat lots of ultra processed food, work at an unhealthy job, and munch on confectionery to get them through the day.
These “confounding factors” affect the results, even after statistical adjustment. This is known as “residual confounding”.
In epidemiological diet studies, it’s too easy to blame meat for the health damage wreaked by the pappy bun, sweet sauces, chips fried in bad oil, and sweet drinks that are commonly consumed alongside it, particularly if that confirms or supports the researchers’ prior beliefs or values.
Epidemiological data is further compromised by what is known as “healthy user bias”.
We are repeatedly told to avoid eating red and processed meat, and healthy middle class people may well have done so, while their less healthy working class equivalents may not. This doesn’t mean that meat per se is the culprit, as opposed to the person’s generally less healthy lifestyle.
Even the epidemiological case against meat is contradictory. In many countries, notably in Asia and Africa, meat consumption is associated with better, not worse health.
The 2018 PURE study, which follows 218,000 participants, in 50 countries, on five continents concluded that, “our results show that dairy products and meat are beneficial for heart health and longevity”.
Other epidemiological studies have found that meat eating is protective against another sort of cancer, melanoma, and reported that the incidence of colorectal cancer in UK meat eaters and vegetarians is not significantly different. This is why the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concludes that “consumption of red meat has not been established as a cause of cancer”.
Nevertheless, the WHO/ IARC has classified the potential hazard red meat presents as Group 2A, a substance that is “probably carcinogenic to humans”. That sounds alarming, but let’s look at this rating system more closely. Sunlight is considered to be a class 1, therefore more serious, hazard. Yet we know that sunlight is mostly beneficial for us. It makes life on earth possible. It is our most efficient way of building up vitamin D, a vitamin that is crucial for immunity, bone health, and much more.
Rather than attempting to build a shaky statistical case against red meat we should apply common sense.
That very important figure in British nutrition, surgeon captain Thomas Latimer Cleave, whose 1966 book, the Saccharine Disease, first identified the negative health effects of consuming over-refined foods and sugar, put it best: “For a modern disease to be related to an old-fashioned food is one of the most ludicrous things I have ever heard in my life”.
I give more credence to the idea that potential jeopardy attaches to consumption of industrial, ultra-processed meats because they contain modern, chemical food additives.
Bacon and ham is commonly cured with nitrates or nitrites, which have been pinpointed by some scientists as carcinogenic. But the same risk applies to
to taste to get the spicy, acidic, sweet balance you like. Stir in the glass. Add the celery stick to decorate. As it is Valentine’s Day, why not add a shot of vodka? You deserve a fillip.
SARDINIAN CAMONE TOMATO AND BURRATA SALAD
Camone, winter green tomatoes, are cultivated in Sardinia and Sicily, available from December until March.
Small, round, red-tinged green, they are grown under duress in saline conditions near the coast. Forced to mature slowly, they draw on the unique balance of natural salts and minerals in the soil. Ripening from the inside, the flesh is sweet and acidic while the green streaked skin remains firm. They are particularly delicious if prepared simply and drizzled with creamy burrata mozzarella or shards of mild pecorino. Merinda or Tiger tomatoes are other winter varieties.
3-4 camone, merinda or tiger tomatoes
125g buffalo burrata or buffalo mozzarella cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh basil leaves
Sea salt and black pepper
Method
Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Dress with sea salt and black pepper and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Tear the burrata over the tomatoes.
Scatter with basil leaves and drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil. www.valvonacrolla. com delivering daily to your door.
accommodation on the ground floor, with the ticket office and waiting room on the floor above. The latter has been modernised and turned into a characterful two-bedroomed flat, while the ground floor flat could be ideal as a rental or holiday let to generate income. Situated at the end of a small lane, the detached property has gardens to the front and side, a decking area and a vegetable garden. Offered for sale together at offers over £195,000. Details available from Melrose & Porteous in Duns.
MILLER Homes has a clutch of incentives available for buyers at its Bothwellbank development in Bothwell, one of the most soughtafter residential areas in South Lanarkshire. Throughout February, buyers have a choice of three options – five per cent deposit paid (a potential saving of up to £24,000), LBTT paid in full (saving up to £21,000) and Part Exchange (saving estate agency fees). In addition, all buyers who make a reservation will be entered into a prize draw to win a Peloton Bike +.
Visit millerhomes.co.uk for details.
OLD Mill Farm is a unique country house offering the complete package: an idyllic setting at Craigforth in Stirling on the banks of the River Forth; panoramic views of Stirling Castle, Wallace Monument and The Carse; potential to develop an attached original byre and other separate outhouses; expansive garden grounds; high specification interior; and a two-storey layout comprising five public rooms, four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Impressive features include travertine marble and hardwood parquet flooring, oak staircase and finishes, heritage fireplaces and open fires, fitted office furniture, luxuriously appointed bathrooms and
infinitely desirable home is a private garden and two parking spaces to the side of the property, in addition to the mature, southfacing communal gardens at the rear. Situated within one of the town’s most popular areas, close to the town centre, seafront, Old Racecourse and Belleisle Park, Number 94 is big on style and represents a rare opportunity to acquire a beautiful turnkey home and a little piece of a prestigious sandstone period mansion. Offers over £150,000 are invited by Stonefield Estate Agents in Ayr.
LOCATION is the main driver for Creggans Cottage, a detached property set high above the coastal village of Tighnabruaich in Argyll & Bute, just four miles from Portavadie Marina and 23 miles from Dunoon.
Set in half-an-acre, the house would benefit from a degree of modernisation – new kitchen, for instance – but is otherwise very well presented.
On the ground floor is a sunroom/porch, sitting room, fitted kitchen, fully tiled shower room and adjoining bedroom, while upstairs are two good-sized bedrooms. On the ground floor is a full-width sunroom/porch, sitting room, fitted kitchen, rear hallway, fully tiled shower room and adjoining bedroom/second reception room Upstairs are two good-sized bedroomsOffers over £185,000 are invited by Robb Residential, Glasgow.