There have been numerous reports as of late, about the negative effects of including meat in your diet, as some sources claim is that the practice of consuming red meat including steak, pork, lamb, and minced meat; and processed meat like sausages, ham, bacon, and salami could lead to heart disease and even cancer.
To look further into this, Dr. Michael Mosley conducted the research of his own, by going on a diet that consisted largely of meat products. He said that while red or processed meat tenant to be on the higher end when it comes to saturated fat, they also contain essential nutrients such as vitamin B12 and iron and are also a great source for protein, which are all important factors for health.
In one of the research studies that he included in his report, Dr. Mosley interviewed Prof. Walter Willet from the Harvard School Of Public Health, and found out that he, and his team of researchers, kept track of the diets of tens of thousands of subjects over the course of a few years. "We found that those are consumed higher amounts of red meat had a higher risk of total mortality-cardiovascular mortality and cancer mortality." Prof. Willett estimates that even the ingestion of a small amount of red, unprocessed meat can be associated to a 13% higher risk of mortality, while eating the same amount of processed red meat is linked to a 20% risk.
In another reference, Dr. Mosley recounted how researchers from the European Prospected Investigation Into Cancer And Nutrition followed the meat eating trends of over half a million people in 10 different countries for several years. They found that consuming moderate amounts of red meat had no significant effects on the mortality rate, although eating more than 160 g of red meat a day increased the health risk by a small percentage. This prompted these researchers to conclude that, "I low-but not a zero-consumption of meat might be beneficial for health. This is understandable as me is an important source of nutrients, such as protein, iron, zinc, several B-vitamins, as well as vitamin A, and essential fatty acids." However, this study also said that eating over 40 g of processed meat daily increases the risk for heart disease and cancer.
