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What's the beef with red meat? By Harvard Health Letters
Why too many burgers and steaks might shorten your life
Though we may love the taste of bratwurst, bacon, and steaks, our carnivorous habits are endangering our health, research shows. Several studies have linked diets high in red meat (veal, beef, and lamb) to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. A recent report by Dr. Walter Willett and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health went a step further, suggesting that regularly consuming red meat could even lead us to an untimely death.
The report, which included more than 83,000 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study, suggested that people who ate one additional 3-ounce serving of red meat daily faced a 13 percent higher risk of premature death. If that serving was of processed meat (such bologna and hot dogs), the risk went up to 20 percent.
WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT RED MEAT?
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If steak and burgers are bad for our health, then processed meats, such as bologna and hot dogs, appear to be even worse. "They tend to have a much higher sodium content, which we know is undesirable," Dr. Willett says. Excess sodium raises blood pressure, putting extra strain on the heart and kidneys. Processed meats are also high in unhealthy saturated fats, as well as nitrates — preservatives that have been linked to cancer.
Nutritionists often recommend that if you do eat meat, choose leaner cuts such as top sirloin or bottom round roast, and cut off any visible fat before cooking it. Yet Dr. Willett's team found that even the most careful trimming doesn't seem to have much of an impact on health outcomes, suggesting that other factors in the meat may be responsible for its health risks.
"It's not just the fat that's the villain," Willett says.
It's also not clear exactly how many servings of red meat you need to eat in order to introduce health problems, so cutting back is the safest strategy.
"Whatever your current intake is, if you reduce it there will be some benefit," Dr. Willett says.
SAFER SUBSTITUTES
If you're worried that avoiding red meat will leave you lacking in essential nutrients, such as iron and zinc, don't be. Dr. Willett says you can easily get these nutrients from other food sources.
"With poultry and especially nuts, you get lots of minerals and vitamins, and fiber, in one healthy package," he notes.
Cutting back on red meat also doesn't mean that you have to deprive yourself of flavor.
"There's a huge variety of alternatives to red meat," Dr. Willett says. "Other cultures have evolved thousands of alternative ways to get protein, and many of them revolve around legumes and beans. Americans are mostly unaware of how interesting and how flavorful you can make dishes out of beans." He also cites nuts as a healthy and tasty protein source, which you can use as a topping for salads, or to make flour. "They're great because they come in so many different flavors."
CHANGING YOUR DIET
"Since we started our study of health professionals, red meat consumption of participants has gone down by 50 percent," Dr. Willett says. "People are making changes, but it doesn't happen overnight."
As a first step, try putting a chicken breast or piece of salmon on the grill instead of the traditional beef burgers and hot dogs the next time you cook out. You might be surprised at how good these alternatives can taste, and how little you'll actually miss red meat.
HEALTHY MEAT ALTERNATIVES
1. Grill up a veggie burger and top it with lettuce, tomato, mustard, pickles, and ketchup.
2. Layer lasagna with sliced mushrooms, onions, green pepper, and eggplant.
3. Serve scrambled eggs with a side of turkey bacon.
4. Marinate tempeh in low-sodium soy sauce or a mixture of garlic and water. Then dredge it in flour and pan-fry it in a healthy oil, such as olive or canola oil.
5. Top pizza with a mixture of artichokes, olives, and feta cheese for a Mediterranean-inspired meal. If you can't part with your pepperoni and sausage pizza toppings, try vegan alternatives.
6. Pan-fry a few slices of tofu, spread on a layer of barbeque sauce, and serve it up as a sandwich between two slices of walnut-lentil loaf. - Harvard Women's Health Watch
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© 2012, PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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