A just released Harvard School of Public Heath study is raising some eyebrows in the world of nutrition and red meat. What is surely likely to make cattle farmers happy and Johnsonville Brats not so much, data pooled from over 20 studies performed throughout the world shows that risk of heart disease and diabetes comes primarily via processed meats (bacon, hot dogs) and not so much from unprocessed meats (steak, hamburger, lamb).
The key seems to be the massive amounts of salt that are used to process meats.According to the Havard researchers, this is where the main issues truly lie. Even though both types, processed and unprocessed, are high in saturaged fats, it is the salt that is most likely contributing to the heart disease and diabetes that is most often associated with all red meat.
The study found that eating processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs, and processed deli meats (hello baloney!) resulted in a 42% higher risk of heart disease and a 19% higher risk of type 2 diabetes. By contrast, the research demonstrated that there was no statistical link to higher risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes by eating the unprocessed meats like pork, beef and of course the much maligned hamburger.
Before you go out and buy a huge New York steak or start dreaming about a 1/2 pound burger for lunch, there are still issues with red meat that can affect your health. Namely, the aforementioned saturated fat. We really don’t need much of it, and too much is of course too much. According to the researchers of this study, the primary take away is that if you are going to eat red meat, it is best to eat unprocessed red meat. So, if you are at the fair and are trying to decide between a brat and a burger, it is best to go with the burger.
This really shouldn’t be a huge surprise to anyone. There is an ever increasing amount of evidence to suggest that any processed foods present potential health challenges to our bodies. Loads of processed sugar, tons of salt, chemicals that even Latin majors cannot pronounce. We have not evolved to eat high fructose corn syrup. So, we likely should not be shocked that a slice of baloney is not terribly healthy for us. When was the last time you saw a wild baloney out in the woods?
