Depending upon the headlines, red meat can be in or out of favour; we look at recent research.
CANCER
High levels of red meat consumption have been associated with a higher risk of cancer1 which is why current advice is to eat no more than 70g of cooked red meat per day (roughly two rashers of bacon). A review of studies into red meat and colorectal cancer (CRC) concluded that red meat and processed meat “convincingly increases CRC risk by 20-30 per cent”,2 although the author stated that the mechanisms underlying the association were unclear. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs), chemicals produced when meat is cooked at high temperatures, were proposed as a contributory factor, with it suggested that meat should be wrapped in aluminium foil before roasting to reduce the formation of HCAs. Another study by researchers at the University of Oxford found that people who ate red meat and processed meat at least seven times a week were 40 per cent more likely to develop bowel cancer than those who ate meat once a week or less.3
In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO), following advice from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), classified processed meats as carcinogenic, stating that 50g of processed meat (less than two slices of bacon) could increase the chance of developing colorectol cancer by 18 per cent. It also said that red meats were probably carcinogenic to humans.4 However, the WHO did stop short of telling us to give up processed meats completely.
BLOOD PRESSURE
Despite the difficulties in isolating direct causes of disease, red meat has for some time been associated with a higher risk of hypertension (high blood pressure) in adults.5 In 2008, for example, a cross sectional epidemiological study involving 4,680 adults aged between 40-59 found an association between red meat consumption and higher systolic blood pressure, even after adjusting results to consider multiple confounding factors.6
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