7 Reasons to cut down on your consumption of red meat

Code Red: 7 Reasons to stop eating so much red meat

Lim Han

17 Apr 2017

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Red meat hardens blood vessels
Doesn’t sound too good, huh? Hidden in red meat is an intimidating compound, carnitine, which has been found to cause atherosclerosis, the clogging and hardening of the arteries. We don’t wish to bombard you with the science-y affairs but for your benefit, we’re going to – a study suggests that carnitine converts to the heart-damaging compound trimethylamine-N-oxide in the body, which thus raises the risk of cardiovascular diseases. So, cut down on your red meat intake or a heart attack could well be on its way.
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You could be ingesting pink slime
Yes, it’s as gross as it sounds. Sugarcoated as “lean, finely textured beef”, pink slime is a meat filler mixed with ground beef to ‘beef it up’. Although it is treated with ammonia gas to kill bacteria, this may welcome pathogens into the food supply and plague you with dangerous stomach issues. Not only that, it may infect your whole kitchen, boding bad news for the whole household. Sure, not every packet of ground beef contains pink slime, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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Increased lifespan
Immortal elixirs? Bah. All you have to do is cut down on red meat. Numerous studies have shown that people who ate two servings of red meat a day were more susceptible to an early death than those who did not. That's not all - most of these avid red meat eaters who passed on had succumbed to chronic heart problems. Wish to live to see your great-grandchildren? One of your best bets would be to ditch the red meat.
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Red meat threatens brain health
Packed with iron, red meat appears to have finally found its redeeming factor. Wrong. The high amount of iron could accumulate in the brain and destroy essential brain tissues, disrupting brain communication. Not only that, excess iron promotes oxidative damage, a process the brain is particularly vulnerable too. Over time, these brain-damaging processes may coalesce into neurological problems such as Alzheimer’s Disease.
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Diminishes cancer risks
The link between red meat and cancer has become so prominent that both terms have almost become synonymous. A myriad of studies has shown that frequent indulgences in red meat can heighten the risk of colon cancer due to inflammatory reasons. To add fuel to the fire, hormones added to red meat may attach to hormone receptors in tumours and boost the risk of breast cancer in women. That juicy beef steak doesn’t look so appetising anymore, does it?
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Reduces likelihood of diabetes
Shoving red meat off your plate will mitigate the threat of the dreadful Type 2 diabetes. As red meat is usually chockful of saturated fat, it is a massive contributor to the occurrence of diabetes and obesity, as well.
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Beneficial for the environment
The consequences of consuming red meat leak beyond the boundaries of our body and spill into the environment as well, as farming livestock has serious environmental repercussions. Animal agriculture emits high amounts of greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming and climate change, spiraling into drastic weather events such as flooding and droughts. Not only that, massive deforestation ensues to clear land for large farms. If you thought that was all - insane amounts of energy and water are used to fuel the production of livestock, engendering greater burning of fossil fuels.

Roses are red, violets are blue. Ditch the red meat, it’s bad for you.

Juicy, delicious steaks, tender succulent lamb shanks, and hulking pulled-pork burgers – what do they all have in common? Well, they can all make you very sick if you aren’t careful. These ubiquitous meats – beef, pork and lamb – are all sheltered under the controversial umbrella of ‘red meat’. Now, don’t get us wrong, red meat isn’t some noxious poison that’s set on destroying every cell in your body. In fact, organic, grass-fed meat is loaded with much-needed nutrients, unanimously crowning it as one of the most wholesome foods you can eat. But, when it comes to too much meat (and processed meat, for that matter), it’s a whole different story.

Studies have shown that consuming too much red meat can have detrimental effects on your health that will make you think twice about chowing down on all those sausages and steaks. From heightening diabetes and cancer risks to wrecking the brain, going overboard with red meat can prove to be a severe threat to your health.

We’ve rounded up the top 7 reasons to moo-ve on from red meat. If you can successfully clamp down on your red meat intake, all we can say is “Well done”.

Lim Han

Photos: Getty Images

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