Can you give me a compelling (health) reason to not eat red meat?!
Answers:
There are a number of reasons that you shouldn't eat red meat. If you are concerned about the treatment of animals and the humans that work in the slaughterhouses, then that's one reason. Highly marbled meat is also loaded with fat and trans fat and that's not good for your heart.
But now it's been shown that besides the risk to your heart, eating red meat can also increase your risk of getting esophageal cancer and stomach cancer.
According to Medical News Today": "US researchers say they have found a possible link between red meat consumption and esophageal cancer (esophageal squamous cell carcinoma); there also appears to be a link between red meat intake and cancer in the area of the stomach close to the esophageal opening."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/206999.php
Cooking red meat at high temperature produce a cancer causing chemical called DiMelQx. If you eat red meats that have been preserved and processed you have an even greater risk of getting these cancers.
The research study tracked almost 500,000 Americans between the ages of 51 and 71. About 215 of the participants developed esophageal or stomach cancer. Although this number is relatively small, it is much higher than the statistical average.
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In response to Deer Hunter down there: Logic 101 fail. Your conclusion does not logically follow from your premise. The causes for the lower lifespan in India are the absence of health care - in rural areas, improper hygiene, lack of fresh drinking water, political instability, social insecurity, lack of education, absence of doctors and hospitals. Diet is only part of the equation.
1 out of 3 Americans will die prematurely of heart disease (Indians include dairy in their diet, which is linked to heart disease): http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4478
There's also substantial evidence that replacing red meat with fish, poultry, beans, or nuts, could help prevent heart disease, and that lowering red meat can lower the risk of diabetes. Processed meats, especially, have been most strongly linked with cardiovascular disease and diabetes, at least in part due to their high added sodium content.
http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/
World Cancer Research Fund, American Institute for Cancer Research. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. Washington DC: AICR, 2007.
A major World Cancer Research Fund report on cancer prevention recommends consuming less than 18 ounces a week of red meat and avoiding processed meats (such as hot dogs, bacon, or ham) to lower the risk of colon cancer.
One concern about the high-protein diet craze has been that eating diets high in protein and fat, and low in carbohydrate, would harm the heart.
In fact, it is possible that eating more protein, especially vegetable protein, while cutting back on easily digested carbohydrates may benefit the heart. A 20-year prospective study of 82,802 women found that those who ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in vegetable sources of fat or protein had a 30 percent lower risk of heart disease, compared to women who ate high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets. But women who ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in animal fats or proteins did not have a reduced risk of heart disease.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query…
Digesting protein releases acids that the body usually neutralizes with calcium and other buffering agents in the blood. Eating lots of protein, such as the amounts recommended in the so-called low-carb or no-carb diets, takes lots of calcium. Some of this may be pulled from bone. Following a high-protein diet for a few weeks probably won't have much effect on bone strength. Doing it for a long time, though, could weaken bone. In the Nurses' Health Study, for example, women who ate more than 95 grams of protein a day were 20 percent more likely to have broken a wrist over a 12-year period when compared with those who ate an average amount of protein (less than 68 grams a day). But this area of research is still controversial, and findings have not been consistent. Some studies suggest increasing protein increases risk of fractures; others associate high-protein diets with increased bone -mineral density. The evidence is inconclusive, and more research is needed.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query…
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20713…
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19662…
When you eat red meat you are consuming all the hormones, antibiotics and fertility drugs that has been pumped into the animal.This means you are consuming secondary vetinary drugs and in many cases this weakens the immune system and can cause immunity against antibiotics. Besides all this you are taking in large amounts of fat, cholestrial and empty calories which you are more likely to get heart disease, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and cholestrial levels and obesity. Protein can be found in many plant based food and there are no nutrients that are missing from a healthy vegetarian diet. Red meat is unhealthy and we dont need it.
Because you're doing this:
a violent, aggressive action ( murder- killing with intention) on a completely normal
and benign animal- it's the same as saying "I want money, I'll go mug that lady and steal her purse".
It is no different.
It is a violent, aggressive thug, who, with all the intellect and knowledge that his ancestors have given him, to be an enlightened being, to show kindness, to not think he is better than another species y showing his might and murdering them ( if you really are better, why not just know it without killing it), still chooses to perform an vicious bloodthirsty act.
Haven't we moved on?
Haven't we progressed at all? We know it is something that animal does NOT WANT- to be stabbed, caged and blinded with sticks poked in his eyes.
If the animal really WAS happy and felt no pain, how come a cage and chains are needed?
So, really, if you still think you are above your fellow beings, and have to prove how amazingly awesome you are by killing one of them to eat its flesh, then go ahead.
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Oh, and red meat is full of animal fat, cholesterol eating from other species gives human animals heart disease.
No I can not.
Correlations between the various diseases that vegetarians claim are caused by meat do not exist. It is EXCESSIVE consumption of meat that MAY increase risk factors but meat itself does not cause anything. The Mayo Clinic, The American Heart Association, The American dietetic Association, even the American Cancer society ALL include meat as part of their healthy food tips and shopping guides. Certainly these organizations are more credible than "vegan.org" or peta.org or "vegsoc.com".
UN statistics on longevity shows Japan, the largest consumption of meat (fish/seafood) per capita is the healthiest society (out of 194) on earth. India on the other hand, with approximately 35-50% of the population being vegan/vegetarian ranks 134th. The US, with its "typical unhealthy diet" ranks 23rd. By the way, also in India, the number one killer in rural areas, where you would find the highest density of plant based diet because of poverty, is cardiovascular disease. Even more ironic, India has one of the highest diabetic cases in Asia. Vegan/Vegetarian healthier? No, definitely not.
Meat in small amounts is good for you. It has a lot of iron. Just don't over do it. Most things in moderation will not have any effect on your body.
what she said.Plus,if you weren't eating red meat you might be able to pull through and be a vegetarian and you'll be very healthier
high in cholesterol
Ah, how the veg*ns love to misrepresent the facts. From Nemisis' link:
"This study does not prove that red meat triggers esophageal and/or stomach cancers, the scientists stress. For the moment, they say that their findings add to accumulating evidence of a link. For example, the link they identified which increased gastric cardia cancer was with the intake of DiMelQx rather than the red meat itself."
Shocking that someone would pick and choose which "facts" to present, isn't it? LOL.
There is no "compelling" health reason not to eat red meat. It's healthy, nutritious, high in iron, protein and other essential minerals and vitamins. When you look at "research" that shows red meat is unhealthy, pay close attention to what they're really talking about. Most of the "research" on red meat will also includes processed meats with nitrites. We know those are unhealthy.