Saturday, December 17, 2011

Red Meat and Your Health

      This article is long overdue.  I've touched on red meat before, and whether or not it contributes to chronic diseases like coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, but I've been meaning to do a more comprehensive write-up on it.  It's time to drive a stake right through the heart of this whole red meat = death hypothesis, because to be honest the idea is completely absurd.  I think you'll be amazed at how easily this myth falls; it doesn't take much when it's built like a straw house, just ask the Three Little Pigs.  And hopefully then we can all stop poo-pooing on red meat and enjoy a steak.

Firstly, let's clarify something... no one has ever proven that red meat causes heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or any other chronic disease.  In fact, there hasn't been a single randomized, clinical trial conducted on the subject.  The best we can say for sure is that red meat is associated with all of these diseases.   In other words, people who consume more red meat tend to have an increased chance of developing these problems.  I'm not arguing that fact.  Many studies have demonstrated this association and it is a relatively consistent finding.  What I am arguing, however, is that there are several key factors that explain this common link between red meat and chronic disease, and none of them involve red meat being inherently deadly.  Prepare yourself for a series of truth bombs...