The evidence has now become very strong that keeping red meat low is one of the most important steps in creating a healthy diet. Replacing red meat with almost anything is better, but replacing it with poultry will move you in the right direction and replacing it with fish or nuts--something with positive health benefits--is even better.
Red meat is high in unhealthy fats. And even lean cuts have unhealthy fats. So, replacing them with unsaturated fats will move the risk of heart disease and diabetes in the right direction.
Q: How does red meat affect diabetes?
A: We're not sure. There may be multiple factors in meat. Some evidence suggests that he heme iron increases risk. The link with diabetes hasn't been appreciated until recently, but now it's been seen in many studies.
Q: Does meat promote colon cancer?
A: Yes, particularly if it's processed red meat. So much happens in the processing that we're not sure what matters, but the evidence is quite strong.
Breast cancer does not seem to be related to red meat consumption during midlife and later, but we have seen a relationship with red meat consumed in early adult life and high school. So far we have the only prospective data on high school diet and breast cancer, so that needs confirmation.
Q: How much red meat is okay:
A: Like almost everything, it's frequency and amount that influence our risk. There's no sharp cutoff. It's like radiation. We can't say that there's any safe level.
But the large majority of the risk would be removed if everyone would cut back from the current average intake, which about once a day, to once or twice a week in a moderate amount. A 20-ounce steak once a week is still a lot of meat.
Q: A serving should be three ounces?
A: Yes, three or four ounces cooked. That would be a huge step in the right direction for the vast majority of Americans who are eating red meat on a daily basis.
Walter Willett is chair of the Dept. of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School. He has published over 1,400 scientific articles on diet and disease. Excerpt from Nutrition Action Healthletter
Red meat is high in unhealthy fats. And even lean cuts have unhealthy fats. So, replacing them with unsaturated fats will move the risk of heart disease and diabetes in the right direction.
Q: How does red meat affect diabetes?
A: We're not sure. There may be multiple factors in meat. Some evidence suggests that he heme iron increases risk. The link with diabetes hasn't been appreciated until recently, but now it's been seen in many studies.
Q: Does meat promote colon cancer?
A: Yes, particularly if it's processed red meat. So much happens in the processing that we're not sure what matters, but the evidence is quite strong.
Breast cancer does not seem to be related to red meat consumption during midlife and later, but we have seen a relationship with red meat consumed in early adult life and high school. So far we have the only prospective data on high school diet and breast cancer, so that needs confirmation.
Q: How much red meat is okay:
A: Like almost everything, it's frequency and amount that influence our risk. There's no sharp cutoff. It's like radiation. We can't say that there's any safe level.
But the large majority of the risk would be removed if everyone would cut back from the current average intake, which about once a day, to once or twice a week in a moderate amount. A 20-ounce steak once a week is still a lot of meat.
Q: A serving should be three ounces?
A: Yes, three or four ounces cooked. That would be a huge step in the right direction for the vast majority of Americans who are eating red meat on a daily basis.
Walter Willett is chair of the Dept. of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School. He has published over 1,400 scientific articles on diet and disease. Excerpt from Nutrition Action Healthletter
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