The Six Secrets of Meat

One of the hottest topics worldwide right now is the human diet, but the problem is that there are so many opinions on what the ideal human diet should be, that it’s almost impossible to know which one to follow. What we do know is that diet has a direct effect on both mental and physical health. Inappropriate diets have been shown to lead to undesirable diseases such as type 2 diabetes or even cancer. Recent research has lead many people to believe that a plant-based diet may be the answer to the worlds growing diet dilemma.

It is often debated whether humans should be meat eaters or not – from our teeth (with a lack of true canines as found in carnivores) to our gut (which is similar to that of apes, who survive on a diet of fruit, leaves, nuts, insects and the occasional scrap of meat as opposed to that of bears, who are true omnivores) all the signs point towards a diet without meat. However, evolutionists have suggested that without meat and animal products we may not have evolved as successfully and speedily as we did. But the important question for us to consider now is whether it is really necessary for us to continue to incorporate meat into our diets?

In the world that we live in today everything is much more accessible — and this includes plantbased food sources that are high in protein such as nuts, seeds, quorn and soy-based meat replacements. Iron can be sourced from legumes, grains, nuts and a range of vegetables instead of from meat. Even Vitamin B12 can be sourced from non-meat products such as cheese, eggs, milk and artificially fortified products. This seemingly renders meat an unnecessary part of the diet as the nutrients that meat is claimed to provide could be sources elsewhere. But does this mean that we would be better off without meat? Or that it is simply possible to meet nutritional needs without it?

When meat is cooked, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PACs) are formed, and these are known

to form carcinogens when metabolised in the body.Carcinogens are molecules that cause cancer. Canceris a disease caused by an uncontrolled division ofabnormal cells in a part of the body – these abnormalcells are often the result of DNA damage followingcheckpoint failures that are supposed toprevent cell division progression if DNA is replicatedincorrectly.

Meat is a high source of N-nitroso compounds(NOC) and a form of iron (haem) that is not presentelsewhere, which increases the formation of endogenousNOC production. NOC are carcinogenic;this has been confirmed in over 40 animal studieswherein NOC has been found to produce tumours,as well as in case-control studies where higher risksubjects were observed to have a greater exposure toendogenous NOC.

Increased non-haem iron from consumption of meathas been found to increase reactive oxygen species(ROS). ROS increase the chances of DNA mutationsthrough a high rate of oxidation of the DNA bases.This may lead to increasing cell proliferation in thelarge intestine if checkpoints fail to detect this DNAdamage. This is a possible mechanism explainingcase-control studies with findings that there is anincreased risk of colorectal cancer with high intakesof red and processed meat.

There are many health pros to the removal of meatfrom the diet. Studies such as Tai Le “beyond meatless”have shown evidence that a plant-based diet hasmany health benefits such as protection against cardiovasculardisease, some cancers and total mortality.Vegan diets have been shown to further protectagainst obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension andcardiovascular mortality. Research, conducted byDr. Kahleova and published in the Nutrients journal,has shown that in overweight people who adopted avegan diet for 16 weeks there was an improvement ininsulin sensitivity and beta cell function compared

to that of a control group. A large-scale meta-analysis reported that there was a significant protective effect of a vegetarian diet against heart disease and all cancers. In most cases a plant-based diet has been shown to have preventative effects; however, there are also incidences of those already diagnosed with diseases wherein the removal of meat from the diet was shown to greatly aid in their treatment and recovery. In fact, people who were chronically ill were found to reap even more benefits from plantbased diets than those that were healthy. According to the NHS, in those with asthma it has been found that eating cured or red meat over four times a week increased the risk of having worsened asthma by 76%. Eating red and processed meats was also found to increase the risk of depression by over 25% in a meta-analysis conducted by Li Y et al’ published on PudMed, whilst fruit and vegetables were found to have the opposite relationship. Animal products are not innocent either – it is said that there is a 40% increased risk of death in breast cancer patients who drank cows milk.

Recently, some doctors have begun prescribing plant-based diets to patients to overcome many diseases, or at least reduce their symptoms. An example of this is with rheumatoid arthritis. The symptoms are believed to be relieved by reducing the patients exposure to an inflammatory compound (Neu5GC) that is found in meat and animal products, with evidence showing that the removal of meat in the diet has left sufferers feeling better within weeks. Evidence supporting this arises from “The China Study”, Campbell (2004), wherein it was shown that in countries with a lower consumption of animal products there was also a lower incidence of rheumatoid arthritis.

Meals incorporating meat have a tendency to lean towards unhealthiness. Steak and chips. Burger and chips. Cured meat platters. These are not wellrounded meals as in many cases they unfortunately do not contain any vegetables. Therefore it may be possible that the health benefits observed from

switching to a plant-based diet may simply be theresult of removing meat from the diet. It could followthat the benefits seen are the result of vegetarians(and especially vegans) needing to monitor what theyeat to ensure that they are meeting all of their nutritionalneeds.

Many case-control studies have shown thatthere is a decreased risk of colorectal cancer with anincreased consumption of fruit and vegetables. It isthought that this is because of the dietary fibre, vitaminsand minerals obtained from their consumption.Vitamin C and E, beta-carotene and selenium showantioxidant activity, acting to neutralise the reactiveoxygen species that can damage DNA, resulting inmutations, which may lead to cancer development.Folate (also gained from fruit and vegetable consumption)is essential for DNA synthesis and methylation.It therefore seems that vegetarianism leadingto an increased awareness of dietary consumption isequally as important as the decreased consumptionof meat products in prevention of diseases such ascancer. However, it seems that red and processedmeat must play a role in development of these diseasesdue to the presence of NOC and ROS followingtheir metabolism and so it is not enough to simplyincrease fruit and vegetable consumption.

I know what you’re all thinking – how can I giveup steak, burgers and lasagne?! Dr. William Kormosfrom Harvard Mens Health Watch has stated thatthere is a rise in the risk of disease with consumptionof 50-100g of meat. But there is evidence that if youreduce your meat consumption by 50g per day, youwill reap many of the health benefits of a plant-baseddiet. However, as the average UK citizen only consumes17g of meat per day, this seems to show thatmost people would simply be better off without it.Just remember – just because the shops sell it, doesn’tmean we should eat it. Think about what you eat,whether it is meat or plant, diet is important!

by Georgia Cook