Niki Bezzant: Steaks are high

Cooking red meat at high temperatures can create harmful compounds that increase cancer risk. Photo / 123RF

COMMENT:

It's just two months since I wrote about the last study on red meat, which found links between red meat and colorectal cancer.

Now comes more sobering news for lovers of big steaks.

We know from previous research that high intakes of red and processed meat are associated with disease risk. A new study published in the BMJ has looked at the effect of changes in red meat intake on what they call all-cause mortality – basically death from any cause.

In this study, increases in red and processed meat were found to be associated with a higher risk of death. Cutting back on red and processed meat was associated with a lowering of the risk.

One interesting aspect here was that it didn't seem to matter how much red or processed meat people were eating to start with; when they changed the amount they ate there was an effect on their risk of death.

As with other studies, the news is worse for processed meat – ham, bacon, salami etc. An increase of one serving per day of processed meat over eight years was associated with a 19 per cent higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 57 per cent higher risk of death from neurodegenerative disease in the subsequent eight years. (A serving was defined as two slices of bacon or one slice of salami.)

Also interesting was that the opposite effect - a lower risk of death – was found when people decreased their red or processed meat consumption and at the same time increased their intake of whole grains, vegetables, or other protein sources.

There's a question around why red meat might have this effect, and a few proposed theories.

One is that things like saturated fat and heme iron found in red meat could promote hypertension, high cholesterol, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Another is that cooking red meat at high temperatures can create harmful compounds that increase cancer risk.

Salami contains nitrates and nitrites. Photo / 123RF

With processed meat, it's a little more clear. The nitrates and nitrites found in these kinds of meats are known to be carcinogenic. What's more, processed meat is usually high in saturated fat and sodium which increases risk for hypertension, stroke and heart and kidney disease.

What does this all mean for us when we're planning dinner?

I think our out-take here is not to get depressed and give up meat. It's a step way too far to take from this research that eating red meat will accelerate your march to the grave. We are talking association here; and relative risk, which is another whole discussion.

But this does add to a body of evidence, so it's worth thinking about our red meat intake, and for some of us, it's worth moderating. Middle-aged men eating meat every day might do well to switch to meat-free meals a couple of times a week. Kids and young women – who have higher iron needs – might be better off not cutting back. Perhaps we can say your red meat mileage may vary.

• Niki Bezzant is editor-at-large for Healthy Food Guide; www.healthyfood.com