Shooting Down Another Red-meat Myth
The way red meat is vilified in the mainstream media these days, I almost expect that when someone in my party orders a steak it will be delivered to the table topped with a mustache and a little black cowboy hat.
Hey, after all, everyone knows the villain always wears the black hat, right?
Well, now a new study out of Sweden is shooting holes right through the heart of one of the mainstream’s favorite red-meat myths…the one that says red meat increases your risk of a stroke.
But, curiously, the study doesn’t seem to be getting much attention by the mainstream press. Hm…on second thought, scratch that. That’s really just business as usual with them, isn’t it?
The Swedish researchers followed 40,921 men age 45-79 who had no history of heart disease or cancer. They used a questionnaire to assess the men’s meat consumption…how much and of what kind.
The men were then followed up on for an average of 10.1 years. During that time 2,049 of them suffered a stroke.
But when the researchers took a closer look at the data, they found that the consumption of fresh red meat was…surprise, surprise…NOT positively associated with the risk for a stroke. However, I’ll give you one guess what was. (And I’m betting dimes to doughnuts you’ll get the answer right.)
Ding! Ding! You guessed it!
Processed meats…like bacon, sausage, and deli meats…turned out to be the real villains in the story.
Yes, the same preservative-laden faux meats that had already been associated with a 42% higher risk of heart disease and a 19% higher risk of Type-II diabetes in a Harvard study last year have now been found to be associated with upping your risk of a stroke as well.
Looks like our hero fresh red meat has been returned to its rightful place on the dinner table. And most importantly you’re in the clear for enjoying that delicious juicy steak for dinner tonight without the usual side dish of mainstream-induced guilt.
Just be sure to skip the factory-farmed meat and choose a grass-fed variety that comes from a local small farm instead. (Hint: Some small farms are unable to afford organic certification, however, if you buy from a local family-owned farm chances are good they do comply with organic practices anyway. Just check with the farmer to be sure.)
To find locally grown, sustainable food in your area, visit www.localharvest.org.
Reference:
"Red Meat Consumption and risk of stroke in Swedish men," Am J Clin Nutr., 2011 Jun 8. [Epub ahead of print]
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An enthusiastic believer in the power of natural healing, Alice has spent virtually her entire 17-year career in the natural-health publishing field helping to spread the word.
She is an advocate of self-education and is passionate about the power of group knowledge sharing, like the kind found right here on HealthierTalk.com. Alice loves to share her views on holistic and natural healing as well as her, sometimes contentious, thoughts on the profit-driven inner workings of traditional medicine.
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Comments
Marten
Meat has no nourishment at all for man. The so-called strength, witch we experience after eating is nothing but stimulation....and the chief causes of all diseases is the filth of GLUTTONY
Lori
Sorry Marten, couldn't agree less with the meat part of your comment. (The rest I'll ignore because I don't get it.) Grass fed meats supply all of the essential amino acids some essential fatty acids. "Essential" nutrients are those that the body must have but doesn't produce. Organ meats and bone broths contain vitamins and minerals that promote health. Folks have been using them for centuries. Okay - I won't ignore the rest. Exactly what does grass fed meat have to do with gluttony??
MR JIM CALLAS
Hey Marten, get your facts straight buddy. Red meat contains a very potent nutrient - CLA.
See for yourself: http://wholefoodusa.wordpress....
Boomer12k
As usual it is the Processing and not the item, meat or other wise. It is the DE-NATURING of foods, and putting things in it that don't belong there. Thus when we eat it we don't get the proper nutrition, and end up "starving" our bodies, if not out and out poisoning it! But then COOKING VEGETABLES DOES THE SAME THING!!!!!!!!!! If cooked too long it denatures them, and destroys vitamins. So learn to cook things properly. I no longer cook veggies if I can help it. Pizza toppings not withstanding.
Be Well and Happy.
Steve
Brian
I was a Pedigree Jersey farmer - free range grass fed - for over 20 years and 'bred' those not meeting my 'breeding criteria' were mated to Hereford or inseminated to Simmental and the progeny raised for "home cook" so we were never 'short' of very high quality meat and consumed accordingly. I'm now in my 70's still thin and still healthy. I am - naturally - B12 deficient - the intrinsic factor - and used to get the B12 'shots' but not now. Red meat - even pork (we also had our own pigs) raised on our dairy excesses has been our staple diet and we are still thriving. Don't believe the PB Food Pyramid, bull/s..t. We originated as "hunters" and became "hunter-gathers" and all the way "MEAT" (OK also fish) was the staple then and still is now.
Lori
Steve - many veggies should be cooked lightly to release some of the nutrients, and they should be cooked with some fat. Anything with carotenes should be cooked to take advantage of the nutrients. Plus, lightly cooking cruciferous vegetables helps to get rid of goitrogens that can interfere with thyroid function. Lightly steamed broccoli with a touch of butter - yum!
Jason
can you post the link to the study article. I need to cite it for my blog...
Alice Wessendorf
Hi Jason,
I added the reference above and here is a link to the abstract on PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...
Hope that helps.
Alice
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