Steak is evil... apparently

I imagine when you turned on the news this morning you were greeted by a warning. The main headline for BBC Health News this morning (08/04/13) read as follows:

Red meat chemical 'damages heart', say US scientists

The Facts

A group of scientists in the USA have recently published a journal article entitled

Intestinal microbiota metabolism of L-carnitine, a nutrient in red meat, promotes atherosclerosis

The researchers hypothesised that a certain strain of gut bacteria, which breaks down L-carnitine releases an atherogenic byproduct in humans. The official conclusion that the study comes to is:

"under some conditions, it [Red Meat] can foster the growth of bacteria that produce TMAO [The atherogenic by product] and potentially clog arteries"

So the researchers report that although they have found a link between the two, there are other factors which affect the situation and other variables which determine the relationship. All in all, a slightly different conclusion than that portrayed by the BBC. 

I have already written a blog on the effects of saturated fat, which is typically why people avoid red meat, and how it fits into healthy eating. I suggest you read it in order to get a better picture. But for today I will focus on red meat as a gross product. 

By far and away the most comprehensive study on red meat and disease is a meta-analysis published in 2010 entitled - Red and Processed Meat Consumption and Risk of Incident Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes Mellitus. 

• The study used over 1 million participants from 10 different countries. 
• It used data from 20 different studies
• It concluded that there was no link between red meat consumption and incidence of Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke and Diabetes.
• It also concluded that there was a significant link between the consumption of processed meat like deli meats, sausages and bacon and the above diseases. 

The researchers explained these claims by saying it was the high levels of salt and preservatives in processed meats which lead to the development of disease. 

In my opinion the huge problem is that processed meats also tend to be eaten with processed carbohydrates, which is a real cause for concern. 

As always seems to be the case, the final conclusion is that in order to be healthy people should avoid processed foods and stick to eating the way nature intended. Eating whole, fresh foods in a good balance.