By Dayne Hudson
This is another common one: "be careful of read meat - it'll give you cancer!"
Well unfortunetly there's not a skerrick of solid cause and effect evidence to support this notion.
Let's find out where this myth spawned from!
IS RED MEAT SAFE TO EAT?
At this stage, absolutely.
The fact is just about everything we eat has cancer causing claims (1).
The above research involved selecting 50 common ingredients from recipes in cookbooks, with the conclusion stating:
"Associations with cancer risk or benefits have been claimed for most food ingredients. Many single studies highlight implausibly large effects, even though evidence is weak. Effect sizes shrink in meta-analyses."
So essentially, where there's a claim against food in most cases, there's little evidence.
It seems as if people are having a random stab in the dark at most foods so that in the future, should it turn out to be an issue, they can declare: "I told you so!"
But what they're actually doing is demonising foods (and A LOT of them!) that contain many health benefits.
And red meat is just one of these foods.
Red meat has been identified as a risk factor but this is in conjunction with other poor diet/lifestyle choices (2).
Let's bring in the authors:
"Consumption of high amounts of red and processed meat and low intake of fiber and multiple protective phytochemicals found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains might be responsible for the high incidence of this neoplasm in the Western world. Additionally, obesity, lack of physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use, sleep deprivation, and other factors have been proven to further increase the risk of colorectal cancer."
So yes, red meat combined with LIMITED fibre, phyochemical and whole grain intake, along with limited exercise together with tobacco and alcohol use and sleep deprivation, can cause cancer.
BUT THAT'S NOT RED MEAT ALONE!
So if you're getting enough fibre and eating a healthy diet whilst keeping active and staying away from the booze and cigarettes, then you have no need to worry about eating red meat.
The other issue is the simple observational studies.
This research involves asking people what they eat, discovering that a few have cancer, finding that red meat is commonly eaten - and simply drawing the link.
Give that to a journalist at the countries biggest newspaper who's short of a story, and watch the eye catching headline spur on fear and pseudoscience!
How many people that read the article would care to do their own research, especially when they think the newspaper is doing that for them?
And how many would actually care to do their own scientific research?
To borrow a line from rapper Scribe: "Not many, if any."
FITNESS & NUTRITION MYTHS: YOU'RE THE BIGGEST LOSER
These myths are frustrating because they can lead to nutrient deficiencies in people who "don't want to get cancer".
Have a guess what the world's largest nutrient deficiency is?
Iron (3).
And what's red meat a good source of?
Iron.
Now of course, there are many other good sources of iron like spinach and oysters, but the point is that when foods are demonised people run the risk of missing out on all the other goodies!
Although one potential problem is BURNT red meat.
Back in 1986, some Japanese researchers discovered that rats who were fed compounds resulting from overcooked meat, developed cancer.
So as a result of this many people took to blaming meat.
Further research, an observational study (and this time into human beings!) has found burnt meat to increase cancer risks (4).
But again, this isn't cause and effect.
So what are the take home messages here?
Enjoy your red meat with plenty of fibre and nutritious foods in conjunction with a good lifestyle; this should outweight any possible negative effects with red meat.
There's also no harm in cutting off some burnt bits of your meat just to be safe.
But the conclusion is this: there's no solid cause and effect evidence to suggest you should stop eating red meat.
So get stuck into it worry-free!
"Stay Fit, Stay Flexed!"
REFERENCES
(1) Schoenfeld JD, Ioannidis JP. Is everything we eat associated with cancer? A systematic cookbook review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jan;97(1):127-34. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.047142. Epub 2012 Nov 28.
(2) Durko L, Maleacka-Panas E. Lifestyle modifications and colorectal cancer. Curr Colorectal Cancer Rep. 2014;10:45-54.
(3) World Health Organisation (2014) Micronutrient deficiencies. Who.int/. Hematology: clinical principles and applications.
(4) Sinha R, Peters U, Cross AJ, Kulldorf M, Weissfeld JL, Pinsky PF, Rothman N, Hayes RB. Meat, meat cooking methods and preservation, and risk for colorectal adenoma. Cancer Res. 2005 Sep 1;65(17):8034-41.
