THE TRUTH ABOUT RED MEAT!Everyone has seen the recent headlines stating that too much ready meat is bad for your health! That because it has long been known it is associated with heart disease and cancer, particularly colon and rectal cancers. Now a new, large-scale study of 500,000 middle-aged and elderly Americans shows that daily red meat consumption, at levels of as little as four ounces a day, can increase your chances of death by 30 percent! These results come after following those study participants for ten years. Daily red meat consumption increased mortality by 30 percent, with heart disease and cancer as the biggest culprits. They also found in this same study that eating fish, turkey, and chicken slightly decreased the risk of death. We should also be highly concerned about the bovine growth hormones that are given to cattle. Research shows that hormone-laden meats can contribute to certain cancers, so if you are going to eat red meat, which is recommend only two times a week, or less, you need to go organic. One of the best choices is sirloin meat from ranch-fed bison.
What about the good protein sources that can add years to your life?A lot of the health risks in red meat are due to the fact that it is high in saturated fat. A far better choice would be replacing red meat with foods from the "Pan-Asian Modified Mediterranean" diet. Not only will that decrease your intake of saturated fat, the Pan-Asian Modified Mediterranean food choices will increase your heart-healthy essential fatty acids, particularly the omega-3 fatty acids. One of the top EFA-rich food choices is fatty fish, which has years of research behind it with healthy results! In a study of EFAs published in 1995, people who ate TWO meals of fatty fish per month, such as salmon, anchovy, and mackerel, experienced a 30 percent reduction in cardiac arrest. FOUR fatty-fish meals a month were associated with a 50 percent reduction in cardiac arrest. Compare those to the statistics on red meat, and this is clearly the way to go. However, even with fish, you need to be careful because some contain high levels of mercury. One of the top choices is wild salmon (not farm-raised). It is one of the best sources of essential fatty acids and is safe to eat two to three times a week. Great Source here! Other choices in the widely approved group include anchovies, sardines, mackerel, whitefish, halibut, sea trout, flounder, sole, Atlantic haddock, scrod, and cod.
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