WHAT'S THE BEEF WITH MEAT?
Lately we've had a lot of clients mention that they're trying to eat more plant based, avoiding red meat and trying to eat less meat in general. There has been many anti-meat documentaries the last few years: Cowspiracy. What the Health. Forks Over Knives. The Game Changers. They are all very compelling (shocking and fear promoting opinions), wrongly convincing viewers “meat is bad” for our health, the environment, and our moral well-being. It make sense that we're hearing all of these anti-meat requests. However when you look at the research, the movies actually provide next to zero scientific evidence (and that's being generous). Below we've compiled the latest research on meat + protein and how it does or doesn't impact: heart health, mental health, bone health and overall health compared to vegetarian and vegan diets.
Hopefully this will clear up some confusion:
What the $#@! Is Wrong with What the Health? by Chris Kresser
How it’s made: Cholesterol production in your body Only about 20% of the cholesterol in your bloodstream comes from the food you eat. Your body makes the rest. What the Health implies all cholesterol only comes from animals and it will kill you.
Cholesterol: What the American Heart Association is Hiding from You (Part 1) by Dr. Shanahan
Saturated Fats and Health: A Reassessment and Proposal for Food-Based Recommendations: JACC State-of-the-Art Review published 2020
The recommendation to limit dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake has persisted despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Most recent meta-analyses of randomized trials and observational studies found no beneficial effects of reducing SFA intake on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality, and instead found protective effects against stroke. Although SFAs increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, in most individuals, this is not due to increasing levels of small, dense LDL particles, but rather larger LDL particles, which are much less strongly related to CVD risk. It is also apparent that the health effects of foods cannot be predicted by their content in any nutrient group without considering the overall macronutrient distribution. Whole-fat dairy, unprocessed meat, and dark chocolate are SFA-rich foods with a complex matrix that are not associated with increased risk of CVD. The totality of available evidence does not support further limiting the intake of such foods.
PURE: Healthy Diet Including Dairy and Meats May Be Good For Hearts Worldwide published 2018
A diet comprised of higher intakes of fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, dairy and meats was associated with lower incidences of cardiovascular disease and mortality worldwide, based on data from the PURE study. Our results show that dairy products and meat are beneficial for heart health and longevity. This differs from current dietary advice.
Protein Consumption and the Elderly: What Is the Optimal Level of Intake? published 2016
Maintaining independence, quality of life, and health is crucial for elderly adults. One of the major threats to living independently is the loss of muscle mass, strength, and function that progressively occurs with aging, known as sarcopenia. Several studies have identified protein (especially the essential amino acids) as a key nutrient for muscle health in elderly adults. Elderly adults are less responsive to the anabolic stimulus of low doses of amino acid intake compared to younger individuals. However, this lack of responsiveness in elderly adults can be overcome with higher levels of protein (or essential amino acid) consumption. The requirement for a larger dose of protein to generate responses in elderly adults similar to the responses in younger adults provides the support for a beneficial effect of increased protein in older populations. The purpose of this review is to present the current evidence related to dietary protein intake and muscle health in elderly adults.
New study confirms: meat is necessary during pregnancy published 2020
Relationship Between Maternal Meat Consumption During Pregnancy and Umbilical Cord Ferritin Concentration confirms the indispensable role of beef in the diet for the supply of heme iron, whose deficiency in this delicate moment can cause long-term adverse neurological effects.
Diets with high-fat cheese, high-fat meat, or carbohydrate on cardiovascular risk markers in overweight postmenopausal women: a randomized crossover trial published 2015
Diets with cheese and meat as primary sources of SFAs cause higher HDL cholesterol and apo A-I and, therefore, appear to be less atherogenic than is a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. Vegetarian and vegan diets and risks of total and site-specific fractures: results from the prospective
EPIC-Oxford study published 2020
Non-meat eaters, especially vegans, had higher risks of either total or some site-specific fractures, particularly hip fractures. This is the first prospective study of diet group with both total and multiple specific fracture sites in vegetarians and vegans, and the findings suggest that bone health in vegans requires further research.
Soybean Oil Modulates the Gut Microbiota Associated with Atherogenic Biomarkers (vegetarians and vegans can eat more of this oil since it is "plant based") published 2020
In conclusion, our results demonstrate dysbiosis following soybean oil supplementation associated with atherosclerosis-related biomarkers. These findings point to the microbiome as a possible mediator to CVD, and it may be implemented into non-invasive diagnostic tools or as potential therapeutic strategies.
Meat consumption and risk of incident dementia: cohort study of 493,888 UK Biobank participants published 2021
Background: Worldwide, the prevalence of dementia is increasing and diet as a modifiable factor could play a role. Meat consumption has been cross-sectionally associated with dementia risk, but specific amounts and types related to risk of incident dementia remain poorly understood. Results: In contrast, a 50-g/d increment in unprocessed red meat intake was associated with reduced risks of all-cause dementia
Meat and mental health: a systematic review of meat abstention and depression, anxiety, and related phenomena published 2020
The majority of studies, and especially the higher quality studies, showed that those who avoided meat consumption had significantly higher rates or risk of depression, anxiety, and/or self-harm behaviors. Our study does not support meat avoidance as a strategy to benefit psychological health.
America's most widely consumed oil causes genetic changes in the brain published 2020
Soybean oil linked to metabolic and neurological changes in mice. New research shows soybean oil not only leads to obesity and diabetes, but could also affect neurological conditions like autism, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, and depression
Vegan diet significantly remodels metabolism in young children published 2021
Statuses of Vitamin D and A require special attention. Researchers report a comprehensive pilot study on the metabolic effects of full vegan diet on young children. The study found vegan children to have remarkably altered metabolism and lower vitamin A and D status compared to children with no special diet.
Vegan dietary pattern for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases published 2021
Studies were generally small with few participants contributing to each comparison group. None of the included studies report on CVD clinical events. There is currently insufficient information to draw conclusions about the effects of vegan dietary interventions on CVD risk factors. Relationship between animal protein intake and muscle mass index in healthy women published 2009 Thus, a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower muscle mass index than is an omnivorous diet at the same protein intake. A good indicator of muscle mass index in women seems to be animal protein intake.
Dietary potato intake and risks of type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes mellitus published 2021
This study suggests that higher potato intake is associated with higher T2D risk among Western populations. The positive relationship presents a significant dose– response manner. Wisely controlled potato consumption may confer potential glucometabolic benefits.
Is Red Meat Killing Us or Making Us Stronger? published 2020
An international team of researchers undertook what they've pitched as the largest and most rigorous analysis to date of the effects of red meat consumption on human health. According to their analysis, the evidence that current consumption is causing harm, or that reducing consumption would lower risks. is too weak and uncertain to justify the recommendation that people should eat less red meat.
Humans Were Apex Predators for Two Million Years – Our Stone Age Ancestors Mostly Ate Meat
Protein for weight loss: How much you need and why it works
The percentage of protein in your diet is highly correlated with how much food you will consume. The fundamental reason that high protein diets lead to weight loss is that there are more losses converting protein to energy. Not only do we eat fewer calories, but less of the energy is available to be stored as fat.
Grass-fed beef: the most ‘vegan’ food in the supermarket
Sadly, in the practice of agriculture it is impossible to not cause endless suffering to many living creatures. One could argue that the most suffering of all is caused by annual agriculture, the cultivation of vegetables, including grains, beans, and rice, that only take one year to grow from seed to food. We displace countless wild animals from their homes and lands when we cultivate annual crops. Not only that, we also kill thousands of creatures when we till the soil. A perennial agriculture, on the other hand, based on trees, shrubs, and livestock, allows nature to thrive.
The World's Oldest People Might Not Be As Old As We Think published 2019
Poor record-keeping and fraud may be inflating the numbers.