Too Much Red Meat?
According to a new study, there is in fact such a thing as TOO much read meat. This study included more than 120,000 American men and women, and concluded that a daily consumption of unprocessed red meat resulted in a 13 percent increase in mortality risk. What poses an even higher risk is a daily serving of processed meat. The study found that eating two strips of bacon or one hotdog per day was linked with a 20 percent increased risk of death. According to the study, bad health habits, like smoking, drinking alcohol and lack of exercise is often linked to avid red meat eaters.
While the study wasn’t able to conclude that the consumption of red meat is the cause of an increased risk of death, it was able to verify an association between the two. So, what can we learn form this study? Substituting red meat for other sources of healthy protein, like poultry, fish, legumes and whole grains results in a decrease in mortality risk, ranging from 7 percent for fish to 19 percent for nuts.
While your overall health remains the most important reason to cut back on red meat, Dr. Dean Ornish, clinical professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, encourages people to reduce their red meat intake for the environment. A quarter-pounder with cheese “takes 26 ounces of petroleum and leaves a 13-pound carbon footprint. This is equivalent to burning 7 pounds of coal,” says Ornish. “What is personally sustainable is globally sustainable. What is good for you is good for our planet.”
So cut back on your red meat intake, people. Save the animals… the environment… and most importantly, YOUR HEALTH!
Read more at http://news.yahoo.com/red-meat-tied-increased-mortality-risk-133110121–abc-news.html
