Do red and processed meats cause harm? One more so than the other.
For many people, red and processed meats are enjoyed thoroughly in the diet. One word: Bacon. Yet eating more than the recommended amounts carries with it a higher risk to our health.
What are red meats?
Red meat includes: beef, lamb, pork (it’s not the “other white meat” according to the USDA), venison, goat, and game meats.
They're called red meats because of the amount of myoglobin, a protein in the muscle that turns red when exposed to oxygen.
Red meats also tend to be higher in iron than other types of animal protein.
During specific stages of our life, red meats are important. They provide many micronutrients including iron and B12, as well as other essential compounds that help with growth and development.
The downside of eating red meat
High-temperature cooking - such as grilling, frying, and deep frying - produces high amounts of harmful chemicals, specifically heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
These chemicals put us at a higher risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
What are processed meats?
Processed meats are meats that have been preserved by salting, curing, smoking, drying, or canning.
These meats include:
Bacon
Sausage (including chicken sausage), salami, and pepperoni
Deli meats, pre-packaged sliced meats, and ham
Smoked and cured meats
Canned meats
Jerky
The downside of eating processed meat
Processed meats tend to contain harmful chemicals - either added to them or created during processing - that are detrimental to our health.
For example, many of these foods contain sodium nitrite, which helps preserve the meat. Nitrites from processed meats have been linked with the creation of nitrosamines, which have been shown to play a major role in the development of many cancers.
Other chemicals in processed meats include Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs). These proteins are also very high in sodium.
How much red meat and processed meat can we safely eat?
While some red meat is safe and healthy to eat, processed meats are more highly linked with cancers, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has compiled studies from all over the world and developed specific recommendations for their consumption.
Red meat: 98g to 500g per week. This is equivalent to approximately 1 to 3 servings, or about 6 to 18 ounces per week.
Processed meat: Per the WHO global dietary recommendations: "A safe limit of consumption has not been established." Read: limit these as much as possible.
Tips and ideas to help reduce processed meat consumption
Instead of deli meat, consider baking a tray of chicken breast and slicing it up for the week.
Instead of beef jerky, consider other protein-rich snacks that have more nutrients and benefits such as greek yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts and seeds, roasted edamame or chickpeas, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and canned tuna.
Try to have bacon as a special once-per-month treat
Have one vegetarian day per week, focusing on high-quality, nutrient-packed plant proteins such as tofu, beans, lentils, and legumes.
Bottom line
Moderating your red meat intake to one to three (3-ounce) servings per week is the goal.
Unfortunately, processed meats come with a much higher risk. While it might not be possible (or you may not want) to limit these completely, think about how you can alter your diet to help reduce how much processed meat you have per week or month.
And yeah - that sadly includes those delicious chicken sausages, deli meats, and meat sticks!
Sources:
Hord NG, Tang Y, Bryan NS. Food sources of nitrates and nitrites: the physiologic context for potential health benefits. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jul;90(1):1-10. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2008.27131. Epub 2009 May 13. PMID: 19439460.
Jakszyn P, Gonzalez CA. Nitrosamine and related food intake and gastric and oesophageal cancer risk: a systematic review of the epidemiological evidence. World J Gastroenterol. 2006 Jul 21;12(27):4296-303. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i27.4296. PMID: 16865769; PMCID: PMC4087738.
World Health Organization. Red and processed meat in the context of health and the environment: many shades of red and green: information brief. 10 July 2023. WHO Nutrition and Food Safety.
Qian F, Riddle MC, Wylie-Rosett J, Hu FB. Red and Processed Meats and Health Risks: How Strong Is the Evidence?. Diabetes Care. 2020;43(2):265-271. doi:10.2337/dci19-0063
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