Nickell- Red Meat

Red Meat

Have you ever really thought about red meat? What does the phrase mean to you? Common sense tells us it is meat that is red when it is raw, for example, beef, lamb, pork and goat to name a few.

Back in the old days, a farmer or the man of the house went out to the barn and killed a cow for his family to eat for dinner that night. Things have tremendously changed over time. Things have become more advanced and we now make mass productions of meat for our food industries to rake in the money. But, to do so, they pump the meat full of preservatives to extend their shelf life for many fast food restaurants to make burgers on demand at any time. For these burgers to be able to be prepared at a lower cost and make more profit the meat industry uses meat extenders and fillers, which are non-meat substances with substantial protein content (‘Meat Products With High Levels of Extenders and Fillers’, n.d.).

Back before we used preservatives to extend shelf life, people used salt to preserve and cure their meat, which caused no harm and only added flavor. But now, these fillers and extenders may be causing harm to our bodies. Many studies have been conducted to linking processed and persevered meats to possible cancer risks.

Meat extender added to meats to preserve them for long periods of time.

Mosy commonly used for fast food restaurants.

The Cleveland Clinic posted an article saying, “The agency made no specific dietary recommendations and said it did not have enough data to define how much processed meat is too dangerous. But it said the risk rises with the amount consumed — each 50-gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent.” (Team, Hyman, Gans, Cotey, & Harris, 2015)

Although there is a link between red meat and cancer, it is still nutritional and good for the body. Red meat provides protein, iron, and B-vitamins, which is vital to functioning nearly every system in your body (Richard et al., 2013).

Because of all the changes that have taken place of this original definition of red meat and all it’s benefits it used to have for your body, it now has negative effects. Although there is a link and increased risk to cancer, it is still good to eat meat in a moderate proportioned way. A little red meat is good for the body and its functions, but too much can result in serious health issues. What are you going to do about your meat portions; will you continue to eat processed red meat? Choose wisely!

Works Cited

MEAT PRODUCTS WITH HIGH LEVELS OF EXTENDERS AND FILLERS. (n.d.). Retrieved 6 November 2015, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ai407e/ai407e16.htm

Team, C. C., Hyman, M., Gans, R., Cotey, S., & Harris, A. (2015, October 27). The link between red meat and cancer: What you need to know. Retrieved 6 November 2015, from http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/10/link-red-meat-cancer-need-know/

Richard, Kresser, C., Hughes, H., watson, L., Black, J., Snider, A., … says, R. (2013, March 1). Media. Retrieved from http://chriskresser.com/red-meat-it-does-a-body-good/