A lot of people are uncomfortable
with eating meat that appears to be too pink or red. The reason being that we
all have been told of the possible health issues that can come from eating it.
In the past, there has been cases in which people have become sick from the
consumption of red meat. For this reason, people tend to either completely cut
it out of their diet or reduce the amount of it that they eat. Before reading
this article, I too was not comfortable eating it and don’t think that I will
after learning about these findings. Personally, I didn’t think it looked nor
tasted appetizing. A recent study has shown that we might not need to cut down
on eating red meat as a way to prevent health issues.
A group of researchers performed
a study
of 12 trials that included 54,000 people and it showed that there was not a
strong relationship between consuming red meat and the health risks that
include heart disease, cancer, etc. Their tests were able to show a variety of
statistics to help their claims. From their study which followed millions of
people, it showed that there was a very small reduction in health issues for
people that have less servings of red meat throughout the week. They also
conducted surveys to see how people stand with the idea of eating red meat. Many
people confirmed that they see meat as being healthy and are not concerned
about changing their diet. Regardless of what they have heard, people tend to
continue to eat food in which they believe is healthy & enjoy.
Gordon
Guyatt who is a chair of the guideline committee mentions how a panel of 14
members from countries all around the world use a high tech systematic methodology.
These methods are then given a certain grade which rates the outcomes of each
test which allows for them to create dietary recommendations and guidelines. He
mentions how this topic in nutrition will help people make their decision when
picking a proper diet. This group believes that the decision from the panel
will help prove that their tests are accurate. The group also mentions how
their studies were strictly based off of health issues, and did not factor in
animal welfare or any environmental concerns. Their main goal as of now is too
continue performing tests in order to prove that red meat does not need to be
cut out of people’s diets.
This study could be used to help
people when making their decisions towards a diet that they want. With more
tests to come, there could be more evidence that show that consuming red meat
may not increase health issues. A large amount of people was tested and showed
no dramatic change in their health. I think a major reason people choose not to
consume red meat is because there have been cases in the past in which people
became sick from it. With these tests, I’m not sure if will change people’s
opinions. Some people may continue to avoid eating it while some people may
choose to change their diet and include red meat. I think that if the guideline
committee creates dietary recommendations and guidelines that support eating red
meat, people won’t see if as much of an issue. After reading this article, my
opinion hasn’t changed and I don’t think I would ever be able to incorporate it
into my diet.
Posted by Matt Cayer (4)
Red meat has a stigma attached to it that leads society to believe that eating it can cause health problems, which might not actually be the case according to your post. However, I agree with your opinion on red meat since I do not include a lot of red meat into my diet. Some people can be turned off from red meat due to the hormones and GM feed that these animals are fed to make them big. People may not want to eat meat coming from these animals as they will also ingest those hormones.
ReplyDeletePosted by "Lauren Shone"
I think the stigma of eating red meat causes health issues is more related to the hormones and GM fed to the animals. If you think about it, back when GM and hormones were not a thing, red meat was not considered a issue. i feel like now i days we need to watch what we eat because the fact that so many things have been genetically modified and also the things they use to feed these animals for mass production. I wonder what type of meat the people who were part of the study ate, because this could cause a change on the results.
ReplyDeletePosted by "Pamela Jimenez"
I must say I read about this new study in many different outlets, and I actually wanted to write about it my self. But my opinion is different from yours. When the news broke, naturally, all the pop-news media jumped on the conclusion and proclaimed red meat as safe. However, I would like to advise everyone to be cautious about studies that make such bold statements. This is particularly dangerous because the results of the study are not from scientific experiments but from reviews and reports. The findings are misleading because, there was no actual research done. There were no control groups; there was no comparison to groups who did not eat meat at all, etc. Most of the conclusion is based on studies in which participants only reduced consumption of red meat, which is not sufficient enough to see a difference. Further, the study included opinions of consumers, which makes it more of a survey than experimental research. Bottom line, we should not take this as a free ticket for red/processed meat consumption, particularly in times where our nation's obesity rate is almost at 50 %, with other health risks being also on the rise.
ReplyDelete-Gene
I think that this topic needs to also be discussed within a cultural context as well. There are a large variety of things that can effect the quality of the meat we are eating and regulations and preparation standards change from country to country. Here in the United States, I would not consider eating any type of meat for myself given the loose quality standards and general grossness of it in general. When I lived in Patagonia Chile, meat was what we consumed the most because it was what was most widely available. It was very difficult to find vegetables or other sources of protein. Thus, there were many different types of dishes belonging to their culture, including raw meat. The meat that we were eating came straight from the country and was raised by real farmers so the quality of the meat was obviously better and healthier. I don't think that red meat is inherently bad but I do think that meat preparation is very sketchy and hard to trace what you are actually consuming.
ReplyDeletePosted by Lauren Mason
This article is very interesting. I have always thought my whole life that red meat was not good for your health and I never really thought twice about it. It is an interesting topic that I have not much knowledge about. Red meat is not a regular part of my diet, but I have it every now and then. I am not too ready to just turn around and agree that red meat may not be unhealthy. I will have to do more research into the studies to see if I can agree with their findings. If red meat is not unhealthy then I would wonder why their is such a widespread misconception that it is unhealthy?
ReplyDeletePosted by "John Mariano"
I agree, I think a lot more actual tests need to be done. I'd like to see more numbers behind what they are saying. I don't think too many people find it very convincing since there hasn't been many other experiments/tests for it. It's a recent discovery so with time more answers will come.
Delete-Posted by Matt Cayer
My parents always told me that eating too much red meat wasn't' good for your health, and I never questioned it. It's cool to see studies like this come out because it shows how knowledge in the scientific community is always expanding.
ReplyDeleteWhile it's nice to know that this is not true, I feel like people today are also worried about the hormones/antibiotics given to animals in agribusiness. When we aren't sure where exactly our food comes from, or how it was raised, it opens up the possibility to eating meat that has been treated with things we didn't agree to ingesting. It will be interesting to see the long-term effects (if any) that this could turn up down the road, as well.
Posted by Meagan Gustafson
I definitely agree that people are more worried about what is being given to the animals that are consumed. I feel like that should be more of a concern and focus rather than studying the effects of red meat. Consuming meat just seems to bring a lot of controversy in general.
DeletePosted by Matt Cayer
This post reminds me of a recent project/presentation that one of my friends did. She was conducting research and I remember her telling me that daily consumption of red meat can increase the risk of heart disease and/or a stroke. Heart diseases can develop when the blood vessels to the heart become clogged with fatty deposits as well as plaques. Ultimately, this can increase the potential of formation of a clot and development of a heart attack. Although there are increased risks, as long as the consumption of red meat is not excessive and daily, it is not necessary to remove it all from our diets.
ReplyDelete-Emily Wong
I have always heard of the sayings that high amounts of red meat consumption could increase a person's chance of getting certain cancers. This post was very enlightening to the fact that that preconception may not necessarily be true, and that there is always more to the story than just what people like to echo to each other. It's nice to know that I might not actually have to be as scared to eat red meats anymore, although there are still issues to be had with the meat and livestock industry in general. This is especially true when considering the effect it has on our global climate, yet it is not known about as much as it should be.
ReplyDeletePosted by Brian Lee (4)
I agree that a lot of times people will echo to each other anything that they have heard or read about. People don't always do the research that is needed. I still don't think I will start including red meat into my diet. Like you mentioned, there are a lot of issues with the meat and live stock industry. I'm not a huge fan and don't really support those companies.
DeletePosted by Matt Cayer (4)
This article really stands out to me because I have read articles stating that lowering your amount of red meat consumption can decrease your risks of obtaining certain types of cancers. After reading a couple articles stating that I have completely changed my diet to consume less red meat. This makes me more at ease so now I can Finally eat red met without worrying as much. Thanks for the information!
ReplyDelete-Joshua Gach