Study: Lots of red meat increases mortality risk

[John317]

Study: Lots of red meat increases mortality risk

By CARLA K. JOHNSON, AP Medical Writer – 10 mins ago

CHICAGO – The largest study of its kind finds that older Americans who eat large amounts of red meat and processed meats face a greater risk of death from heart disease and cancer. The federal study of more than half a million men and women bolsters prior evidence of the health risks of diets laden with red meat like hamburger and processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts.

Calling the increased risk modest, lead author Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute said the findings support the advice of several health groups to limit red and processed meat intake to decrease cancer risk.

The findings appear in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.

Over 10 years, eating the equivalent of a quarter-pound hamburger daily gave men in the study a 22 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 27 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease. That's compared to those who ate the least red meat, just 5 ounces per week.

Women who ate large amounts of red meat had a 20 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 50 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease than women who ate less.

For processed meats, the increased risks for large quantities were slightly lower overall than for red meat. The researchers compared deaths in the people with the highest intakes to deaths in people with the lowest to calculate the increased risk.

People whose diets contained more white meat like chicken and fish had lower risks of death.

The researchers surveyed more than 545,000 people, ages 50 to 71 years old, on their eating habits, then followed them for 10 years. There were more than 70,000 deaths during that time.

Study subjects were recruited from AARP members, a group that's healthier than other similarly aged Americans. That means the findings may not apply to all groups, Sinha said. The study relied on people's memory of what they ate, which can be faulty.

In the analysis, the researchers took into account other risk factors such as smoking, family history of cancer and high body mass index.

In an accompanying editorial, Barry Popkin, director of the Interdisciplinary Obesity Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote that reducing meat intake would have benefits beyond improved health.

Livestock increase greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming, he wrote, and nations should reevaluate farm subsidies that distort prices and encourage meat-based diets.

"We've promoted a diet that has added excessively to global warming," Popkin said in an interview.

Successfully shifting away from red meat can be as easy as increasing fruits and vegetables in the diet, said Elisabetta Politi of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C.

"I'm not saying everybody should turn into vegetarians," Politi said. "Meat should be a supporting actor on the plate, not the main character."

[Outta Here]

Study: Lots of red meat increases mortality risk

Quote:

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Reading the actual article itself, one will read that these findings are questioned by the National Pork Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

[GreatLakesGramma]

Reading the actual article itself, one will read that these findings are questioned by the National Pork Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Why am I not surprised?

[Amelia]

Quote:

People whose diets contained more white meat like chicken and fish had lower risks of death.

So if I don't eat meat at all I won't die? teehe

[John317]

Afraid it doesn't work that way, but there's a better chance you'll get sick and die sooner if you eat lots of red meat, apparently. I'm not going to experiment to see if they're right, particularly given the fact that these studies are supported by Ellen White's statements. Those wouldn't be great odds in my favor.

[kayyak]

Who wants to eat dead flesh?

[phkrause]

I'd rather eat it dead and cooked than alive! hahahahaha hohohohoho hehehehehe Couldn't resist.

pk

[Cosmin M.]

Old news....

I rarely eat red meat.

I mostly eat chicken.

[Bravus]

Guess I might as well say it once again: it's a different thing saying excess is unhealthy to saying any use at all is unhealthy. This finding is important in guiding our diet, but shouldn't be used (on its own) as support for complete abstinence from red meat. (There are other, better, reasons to abstain.) After all, even water is unhealthy in excess, and certainly sugar is... but no-one is advocating complete abstinence from those things.

I'll continue to have a steak or a burger once or twice a week, along with lots of fresh whole veggies and salads, plenty of water, sleep, sun and exercise.

[phkrause]

Yes Bravus, like EGW says, all things in moderation. I have not had a hamburger in a few years, and stop eating steak many years ago. The only meat I eat these days is a little turkey and chicken, like maybe once every few months. And also Fish, especially salmon my favorite. But I made sure I balance that with plenty of vegetables.

pk

[Robert]

HEY ALL

WELL here is another reason to be a vegetarian

dgrimm60

Last time I checked sin is killing vegetarians too!

[phkrause]

You are correct Rob, but doesn't Paul mention that are bodies are the temple of God? I would imagine this to mean that we should eat as healthy as we can! But don't get me wrong Rob, I'm not saying that you can't eat meat, because Christ ate meat while here on this earth. Plus I'd say that there are more things that will play a part in the quality of our lives and how long we live on this sinful earth.

pk

[phkrause]

Yes dgrimm I know, I was just replying to Rob. Is that OK with you? hahahahaha hehehehehe hohohohoho

pk

[phkrause]

As I was reading your post dgrimm, a thought came into my brain, as little of it as I have left, that there is no advantage to having a meat based diet to a plant based diet. I still eat a little bit of meat, but not like 15-20 years ago, not that I ate a lot. I actually don't eat any red meat anymore.

pk

[phkrause]

I understand what you are saying dgrimm. EGW says something to that effect also. That our diets effect what we do and say.

pk

[Gail]

Very wise decision to take that advice, d!!!

[Gail]

That and, don't ever talk about a woman's weight or age!

[Gail]

That's if you wish to retain your head...

[Gail]

I know you were. I was just having some fun with you :)

[Bravus]

Did Albert Einstein eat meat?

[Gail]

Did Albert Einstein eat meat?

Interestingly enough, he seems to have adopted a vegetarian lifestyle for the last part of his life.

What I like about Einstein is his comment about science being limited only to the questions man is able to think up.

[Amelia]

I don't know if he ate meat. What I want to know is what he ate that made his hair to this:

[phkrause]

Amelia, he had a good hair stylist, can't you tell.

pk

[Tallmark]

There sure are a lot of carnivorous SDA's out there. More than when I joined in 1980. The problem for us seems to be avoiding dairy. So many SDA's tell me that they're vegetarians, while consuming milk and cheese like there's no tomorrow. We as a church are getting the dis-eases of the Egyptians because we eat like them. Ellen White said that we will have to discard dairy products. Are people waiting for God to write something on the wall like he did in Daniel's time? All right, here's the writing:

http://notmilk.com/egw.html

[phkrause]

Absolutely dgrimm, salvation is not based on eating. And there is nothing in the Bible that tells us not to eat meat. That's up to each person, and I believe each of us knows that a plant based diet is what God intended for us.

pk