Red meat is a healthy food - particularly beef!

Over the last few days I've written about the dire health warnings from the World Cancer Research Fund UK and others about the dangers of 'red meat' in our diet. Despite another eight or so hours of trawling through their 1,082 references I'm still unable to find a single study that shows that red meat - real red meat - is any danger whatsoever.

As I discovered with NDNS 2000-2003 'red meat' in nutritionists' terms includes lasagne, curries, sweet and sour, meat spreads and pastes, pies, and cheeseburgers, complete with buns!

I think it's high time we all looked at what red meat in general, and beef in particular, really can do for us. As I said above, I've not been able to find any research that shows red meat is bad for us, so would I have any more luck in finding evidence that proves the reverse - that it's actually good for us? Just take a look!


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C A N C ER
Conjugated linoleic acid. A powerful anticarcinogen from animal fat sources. C, Scimeca JA, Thompson HJ. Cancer. 1994 Aug 1;74(3 Suppl):1050-4.
Conjugated linoleic acid is unique because it is present in food from animal sources, and its anticancer efficacy is expressed at concentrations close to human consumption levels. The efficacy of conjugated linoleic acid in mammary cancer prevention is independent of the level or type of fat in the diet.
Conjugated linoleic acid in animal fat can prevent cancer.

Stability of conjugated linoleic acid isomers in egg yolk lipids during frying. Food Chemistry. Volume 86, Issue 4, August 2004, Pages 531-535
The eggs, containing 4.0% CLA per gramme of egg yolk, were stored in a refrigerator at 0–4 °C for 6 months, while the egg yolks were fried in a pan at 160–180 °C for 40 s. Either storage for 6 months or frying for 40 s did not significantly change the composition of CLA in egg yolk.
Egg yolks are a good source of conjugated linoleic acid.

Role of diet on conjugated linoleic acid content of milk and meat. T. R. Dhiman*1, 1Department ofAnimal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, UT 84322-4815
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) occurs naturally in many foods. However, the principal dietary sources are meat, dairy products and other foods derived from ruminants. Research studies with animal models suggest that CLA reduces the risk of cancers at several sites (mammary tissue, prostrate, gastrointestinal tract, lung, and skin), reduces body fat and enhances growth of lean body mass. Fat from milk and beef contains an average 4.0 and 3.5mg CLA/g of fat, respectively.
Cows grazing on pasture had 500% more CLA content in milk compared with cows fed typical dairy cow diets containing conserved forage and grain in a 50:50 ratio. Raising beef cattle on forages and pasture with no grain supplementation can enhance the CLA content of beef.
Meat and dairy products from grass-fed cattle are high in conjugated linoleic acid, which can reduce the risk of cancers, reduce body fat, and produce a lean body.


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C A N C E R...and...V I S I O N

Role of fatty acids in malignancy and visual impairment: epidemiological evidence and experimental studies. Tsubura A, Yuri T, Yoshizawa K, Uehara N, Takada H. Histol Histopathol. 2009 Feb;24(2):223-34.
SFAs such as palmitic acid and stearic acid show little or no tumor promoting effect, and the action of oleic acid, a MUFA, is inconclusive. SFAs such as palmitic acid and stearic acid show little or no tumor promoting effect, and the action of oleic acid, a MUFA, is inconclusive.
In addition to regulation of abnormal cell growth seen in cancers, fatty acids also control cell loss seen in degenerative eye diseases, such as degeneration of lens material in cataract and degeneration of photoreceptor cells in retinitis pigmentosa. Experiments suggest that n-6 PUFAs cause deleterious effects, while n-3 PUFAs result in beneficial effects on the lens and retina. In particular, docosahexaenoic acid is known to be effective in rescuing photoreceptor cells from damage.
Saturated fats [SFAs] do not help cancers to grow, and can control degenerative eye diseases. Polyunsaturates from vegetable sources [PUFAS] injure the eyes.


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C H O L E S T E R O L

Reducing the serum cholesterol level with a diet high in animal fat. Newbold HL. South Med J. 1988 Jan;81(1):61
Multiple food allergies required a group of seven patients with elevated serum cholesterol levels to follow a diet in which most of the calories came from beef fat. Their diets contained no sucrose, milk, or grains. They were given nutritional supplements. This is the only group of people in recent times to follow such a diet.
During the study, the patients' triglyceride levels decreased from an average of 113 mg/dl to an average of 74 mg/dl; at the same time, their serum cholesterol levels fell from an average of 263 mg/dl [6.8 mmol/l] to an average of 189 mg/dl [4.89 mmol/l].
At the beginning of the study, six of the patients had an average high-density lipoprotein percentage of 21%. At the end of the study, the average had risen to 32%.
These findings raise an interesting question: are elevated serum cholesterol levels caused in part not by eating animal fat (an extremely "old food"), but by some factor in grains, sucrose, or milk ("new foods") that interferes with cholesterol metabolism?
Yes, "most of the calories came from beef fat" and blood cholesterol levels were reduced. This research has been around for over twenty years now, so why do today's nutritionists ignore it?
Could it be that there's no profit in beef fat for the diet industry or the pharmaceutical companies?



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B L O O D ...G L U C O S E

An increase in dietary protein improves the blood glucose response in persons with type 2 diabetes.Gannon MC, Nuttall FQ, Saeed A, Jordan K, Hoover H. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Oct;78(4):671-2.
Total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were essentially unchanged with the high-protein diet. However, the fasting triacylglycerol concentration decreased by 20% after 5 wk of the high-protein diet.
This is interesting, as very lean beef was used in this study, unlike the previous one with coeliacs. I'm no expert, but logic suggests that had beef with its normal fat been used, cholesterol may well have dropped as well, as in the coeliac study.

And if you live in Australia and don't have any cattle close by, kangaroo will do nicely.

Kangaroo meat - health secret revealed. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 2004 April 23.
CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is found in dairy products, beef and lamb. CLA is produced in the stomach and tissues of ruminant animals such as sheep and cattle during the digestion process.
In trials, CLA has been shown to possess potential anti-carcinogenic and anti-diabetes properties, in addition to reducing obesity and atherosclerosis (high blood pressure).
The meat of Australia's bush kangaroo may be the highest known source of the healthy fat. Dairy milk was previously the highest known source of CLAs, followed by the fat of beef and lamb.
Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) are polyunsaturated fatty acids. one study in humans detected an inverse (reduced) relationship between milk consumption and breast cancer risk. Many other foods contain CLA, including vegetable oils, eggs, seafood, poultry and pork but at very low levels.
Drinking milk containing conjugated linoleic acid reduced the risk of breast cancer. Although CLA is a polyunsaturate it is different to the PUFAs which are derived from vegetables.

I find it appalling that 'expert nutritionists' are forcing misleading information onto the population, when so much evidence showing the health-giving properties of beef has been steam-rollered into the ground, presumably by the powerful vegetable oils lobby, aided and abetted by the pharmaceutical companies. I have no doubt that is where the blame lies, and if you think I'm exaggerating their power, take a look at Mary Enig's articles, such as this one on coconuts.

I found no research to back up the claims that eating red meat, together with its fat, gives us cancer, high cholesterol, or high blood glucose (diabetes), but plenty to demonstrate that it actually protects us from these diseases.

I shall continue eating beef and beef fat, because I want to stay healthy.

Friday and the promised email.

Yes, the email promised by World Cancer Research Fund UK arrived, with the explanation that the science team "has taken into account many different sources as the aim was always to be as evidence-based as possible".

The link provided led me to the actual report, together with a list of 1,028 references.

My first reaction was amazement that there were so many studies on the relationship between red meat and cancer, but I quickly discovered my mistake. The titles of the studies contained in the 1,028 references told quite a different tale. These are just some of them chosen at random:

Taxing snack foods
Effectiveness of physical activity programs at worksites with respect to work-related outcomes
Why don't you grow your own?
Does returning to work after childbirth affect breastfeeding practices?
Government perspective: food labeling
Major factors influencing breastfeeding rates: mother’s perception of father’s attitude and milk supply.
Estimation of food demand patterns in South Africa based on a survey of households.

So I searched for "red meat", and came up with these results:

Tzoulaki I, Brown IJ, Chan Q, et al. Relation of iron and red meat intake to blood pressure: cross sectional epidemiological study. BMJ (Clin Res Ed) 2008;337:a258.
Conclusions: Haem iron showed direct weak associations with blood pressure. Haem iron is found mainly in red meat, poultry, and seafood; it is a major component of total iron intake in Western diets.e
Does this show that red meat causes cancer? Nope! Does it even show that red meat raises blood pressure to a dangerous level? Nope!

van den Brandt PA, Botterweck AAM, Goldbohm RA. Salt intake, cured meat consumption, refrigerator use and stomach cancer incidence: a prospective cohort study (Netherlands). Cancer
Causes Control 2003;14:427-38.
CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest that intake of dietary salt and several types of cured meat were weakly positively associated with stomach cancer risk.
So, does this one show that red meat causes cancer? Nope!

That's it, folks - just two studies with 'red meat' in the title.

So I tried "meat" on its own, and fared rather better! The first 'meat' only study is this one. Its findings are very interesting:

Cordain L, Eaton SB,Miller JB, et al. The paradoxical nature of hunter-gatherer diets: meat-based, yet non-atherogenic. Eur J Clin Nutr 2002;56 Suppl 1:S42-52.
CONCLUSION: The high reliance upon animal-based foods would not have necessarily elicited unfavorable blood lipid profiles because of the hypolipidemic effects of high dietary protein (19-35% energy) and the relatively low level of dietary carbohydrate (22-40% energy). Although fat intake (28-58% energy) would have been similar to or higher than that found in Western diets, it is likely that important qualitative differences in fat intake, including relatively high levels of MUFA and PUFA and a lower omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio, would have served to inhibit the development of CVD.
So, a high-fat, high-protein, low-carbohydrate, low-polyunsaturated fats diet "inhibits the development" of cardiovascular disease! Yes, but what about cancer? Sorry - no mention of red meat causing cancer!

Next was this, with very interesting conclusions:
CrawfordMA,WoodfordMH, Casped NM. Comparative studies on fatty acid composition of wild and domestic meats. Int J Biochem 1970;1:295-305.
Conclusions: Literature comparisons showed tissue lipids of North American and African ruminants were similar to pasture-fed cattle, but dissimilar to grain-fed cattle. The lipid composition of wild ruminant tissues may serve as a model for dietary lipid recommendations in treating and preventing chronic disease.
Grass-fed cattle should be recommended to treat and prevent chronic disease, but not grain-fed cattle. Why? Because cattle are now being fed soy to make their meat more 'healthy' for humans! This means that what we think of as 'saturated animal fat' is more like plant polyunsaturates.

Then came:

Lazaridis P. Household meat demand in Greece: a demand systems approach
using microdata agribusiness. Agribusiness 2003;19:43-59.
Nothing to do with cancer.

Mata RG, VillalonMFV, Salazar JAG, et al. Econometric model for determining the
factors affecting the swine meat market inMexico. Interciencia 2004;29:214-420.
Hsu L. Gradual structural changes of meat consumption in Taiwan. J Int Food Agribus Mark 2000;11:33-50.
Nothing to do with cancer.

Hsu L. Gradual structural changes of meat consumption in Taiwan. J Int Food Agribus Mark 2000;11:33-50.
Nothing to do with cancer.

Mata RG, VillalonMFV, Salazar JAG, et al. Econometric model for determining the factors affecting the swine meat market inMexico. Interciencia 2004;29:214-420.
Nothing to do with cancer.

By this time I was more than a third of the way through the references, so decided to start searching the document itself for specific references. And can you guess what I found?

"Using the UK NDNS dietary data for 19–64 year olds, exposures for individual red meats (beef, pork, etc.) were aggregated into a single variable (red meat)."

Yes, it's our old friend NDNS 2000-2001 with it's flawed surveys once again! So on what else is the warning based? I've no idea as I've not been able to find anything else, except for confirmation that: "‘Red meat’ refers to beef, pork, lamb, and goat from domesticated animals including that contained in processed foods" (p 382), and the bald, unsupported statement:

Evidence
The evidence that red meat, and particularly processed meat, is a cause of colorectal cancer is stronger now than it was in the mid-1990s.

Much of the report centres on the economy of agricultures, and I encountered such phrases as "All food items (except other red meat) had an inelastic own-price elasticity of demand over the study period.". One such area studied in some depth is the former Soviet Union. That particular section concludes:

"No definite conclusions can be drawn since none of the studies explicitly measured the impact of agricultural policies on dietary outcomes."

Quite!

Tomorrow I intend looking at the other side of the coin - the good that grass-fed red meat does for us, including how it actually protects us from cancer.

Footnote: I'm now told by the WCRF press officer that the "advice on red meat comes from the companion report to this report, whichwas published in 2007" which is on this link. I've yet to find it, but if I do I'll post it!