Is red meat harmful for health?

Many studies conducted over the last two decades have been revealing that red meat is harmful to health. I have heard people saying that they know the harmful effects of that red meat and processed meats however continue to have them because of its taste and because of the "Filling: feel it gives. It is true that red meat has lots of protein loaded in it but it is also true that red meat is high in saturated fat, which in turn raises the blood cholesterol levels. And high levels of LDL leads to increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chances of cancer.

Studies led by Dr. An Pan, Harvard School of Public Health, analyzed more than 121,000 men and women for over two decades. Their eating and lifestyle habits, the amount of red meat consumed, were carefully tracked during this period and also their health outcomes. During this period nearly 24,000 participants died. Out of which 5910 participants suffered from cardiovascular diseases and 9,464 suffered from cancer. The study finally revealed that an additional single serving of meat a day contributed to a 13% increased risk of dying and an additional single serving of processed meat a day increased the risk by 20%.

Another study published by the American Journal of clinical nutrition found that a 50grams daily serving of processed meat doubled the risk of diabetes. Red meat and processed meat also has found to increase the risk of ischemic stroke, which accounts for 87% of all stroke cases. This is caused due to the high levels of saturated fats in red meat and processed meats. Red meat also contains high levels of heme iron, increased doses of which can cause oxidative stress, increased peroxidation of lipids, DNA damage and protein modification. Excessive consumption of heme iron thereby leads to cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, chronic inflammation and also atherosclerosis.

Red meat is also known to increase the risk of digestive cancer. This is mainly due to two factors, one of them is that cooking of red meats lead to formation of carbon based amines, which increases the risk of this type of cancer and the second is because of the digestive load it places on the pancreas, which can also result in development of metabolic disorders.

A good thing is that all the health benefits that red meats offer can be substituted with healthier alternatives such as lean meats, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fish and beans providing you with enough amount of iron, protein and fiber. Then why to stick onto something which we know can bring premature death by clogging your arteries?