Started by Fluidity, April 23, 2013 · 36 Replies · 11,299 Views
When it comes to eating meat everday in order to fulfill protein requirements can eating red meat everday be detrimental to health?
Here are some links I saw
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/are-you-eating-too-much-meat.html#b
If this is really true, should red meat consumption be limited to a few times a week, and should I use other protein sources when it comes to fulfilling my protein needs.
Yes, my grandmother was adamant that you should not; she got that from hers... (no link to a study!) 
Fish and poultry are common often less costly and still meaty alternatives.
Yer getting me in the mood for a nice juicy steak. Been over a month since having one 
There is no good evidence that replacing animal products with just plants is any healthier than eating all those plants + eating meats. Nobody ever looks at what happens when you just add tons of plant matter, get rid of processed garbage, and just eat plants + meats.
There are a lot of correlative studies showing that one's level of red meat consumption has a direct relationship with mortality. The more you eat, the shorter your life gets. Not by much, just a few years, and there are no specifics as far as what diseases you are more susceptible to die from.
There's more data coming now that shows a lot of cholesterol issues to be partly bacterial in nature, and that this seems to be a confounding variable in the red meat studies. It's not all that different from the old BS about stomach ulcers... nowadays we know that it's a bacterial issue.
Long story short, we don't actually know much beyond this: The more plant matter you eat, the better.
I don't have much doubt that grainfed cheap supermarket beef is not the best food source. However if you are eating grassfed there isn't much to be worried about. I love beef way more than chicken but generally end up varying my diet for the sake of my wallet. Btw eating organ meat is a great cheap way to get protein and even more nutrients.
Those studies note the quality of the meats to a varying degree. Definitely eat greens, the right fish is great too; however, I am about to eat a tasty grass fed leg of lamb for breakfast and I would love to do the same every day. I know it works very well for me and my energy level will be good for training today, a processed meat like a hot dog would not work well. No link to a study, are there places perhaps New Zealand, where people eat a lot of meat but not processed foods? I wonder how their health compares to a typical American diet?
A lot of chicken is so low quality it tastes and looks like styrofoam these days, if it tastes like it comes from a factory not a farm I avoid it.
As a frequent meat eater I find this a bit disturbing. Opinions?
Yeah, wait for the next study that says they were wrong! and enjoy your steak
Helander said:As a frequent meat eater I find this a bit disturbing. Opinions?
To counteract this effect, you should have a glass of red wine with your steak.
Thank God we have Slizzardman here!
Joshua Naterman said:.....The more you eat, the shorter your life gets. Not by much, just a few years, and there are no specifics as far as what diseases you are more susceptible to die from......
Helander said:As a frequent meat eater I find this a bit disturbing. Opinions?
This study gets taken apart here: http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/cmasterjohn/2013/04/10/does-carnitine-from-red-meat-contribute-to-heart-disease-through-intestinal-bacterial-metabolism-to-tmao/
The first thing you need to do when it comes to nutrition (IMO) is to skip the news headlines. Seriously.
Hari_Seldon said:To counteract this effect, you should have a glass of red wine with your steak.
Brilliant!
Studies might address lifespan but they neglect to look at quality of life. Losing a few years of being old and incapacitated (to varying degrees) might be worth it if eating more red meat makes your life better (chicks dig it).
I agree with Daniel that grass-fed beef is far superior. The nutrient profiles and more disconcertingly the fat profiles are completely different between grass-fed and grain-fed beef. If you're really concerned just rotate between all the spices in the known universe and they'll magically correct many imbalances (given a solid foundational nutrient base). After all the new world was re-discovered while explorers were searching for an alternate spice trade route.
The problem I have with this concerning my diet is that my parents aren't really into letting me buy protein shakes, the more ridiculous thing is that they can't tell the difference between drugs and health supplements like whey and think that they are one and the same, and now when it comes to getting my protein from whole foods, they are still not letting me get the amount of meat I would want since they still think its unhealthy. Any advice?? I almost hit my target weight of around 180 lbs, then after that I'm hoping to cut fat and stay the same weight.
Fluidity said:The problem I have with this concerning my diet is that my parents aren't really into letting me buy protein shakes, the more ridiculous thing is that they can't tell the difference between drugs and health supplements like whey and think that they are one and the same, and now when it comes to getting my protein from whole foods, they are still not letting me get the amount of meat I would want since they still think its unhealthy. Any advice?? I almost hit my target weight of around 180 lbs, then after that I'm hoping to cut fat and stay the same weight.
Eat white meat chicken. It's nearly as fast if you boil it. The canned stuff is also probably pretty fast.
Maybe you can take your parents with you to a sports nutritionist, so that they can learn what is healthy and what is not.
Also, buy chicken if red meat is an issue! Meat is meat, more or less.
Lentils beans and nuts are not as good as meat sources. There is a ton of discussion on this elsewhere. Also they can require more preparation to be considered safe.
Domz said:They're not as good as meat sources at what? Raising IGF-1 levels?
Yes, lentils and beans do require preparation to be considered safe, like cooking. Meat has to be cooked to be considered safe too, so whats the difference? Soaking does not really take any extra time since you just put them in water and leave it for a day.
Hey, I like the taste of good quality meat as much as the next person.
Beans, nuts and grains are inferior as primary protein sources for the simple reason that most of their calories come from fat or carbohydrates. You have to eat a ton of them to get your recommended daily protein intake.
At this point I guess my the best idea is to go to a sports nutritionist and let them talk and explain what is good and what isn't in the context of nutrition since my parents don't believe me.
As for protein sources I'm wondering the advantages of eating whole foods such as cheeses, meat, and nuts are over slow release protein shakes?
Advantages are you are getting nutrients besides just the macro. This is massively beneficial in ways that we don't even understand yet. Even more so if you eat vegetables.
Hari_Seldon said:Beans, nuts and grains are inferior as primary protein sources for the simple reason that most of their calories come from fat or carbohydrates. You have to eat a ton of them to get your recommended daily protein intake.
Agree with this, but only if someone is only eating beans nuts and grains. If someone is also eating meats and other protein sources, they are a fine complement to supply needed carbs and fats. For a snack, not a problem.
Turkey breast and low fat cottage cheese actually have more protein per calorie than beef.
Fluidity said:At this point I guess my the best idea is to go to a sports nutritionist and let them talk and explain what is good and what isn't in the context of nutrition since my parents don't believe me.
As for protein sources I'm wondering the advantages of eating whole foods such as cheeses, meat, and nuts are over slow release protein shakes?
Cheese is fine, low and no/fat will have high amounts of protein per calorie. Any form of protein will help. I am pretty sure you could put together a reasonable diet using meat, chicken, fish, beans, rice, milk, whole grains, vegetables plus occasionally nuts, nut butter,and sprouts that had more than enough protein without needing protein shakes. Another option is see if they would allow you to get skim milk powder. It's high protein though still has the milk sugar in it but no fat and is usually sold in groceries. The main thing is to get the totals you need on all fronts.
May I suggest it will help you more if you can record what food you eat for a week into
a nutrition log site, and then see what you are missing. From there it will be easy to tell what can be done
for the sake of discussion. If it can't then perhaps then go to an "expert".
FutureisNow said:Agree with this, but only if someone is only eating beans nuts and grains. If someone is also eating meats and other protein sources, they are a fine complement to supply needed carbs and fats. For a snack, not a problem.
Yup, agreed. That's why I said 'primary protein source.'
Fluidity said:The problem I have with this concerning my diet is that my parents aren't really into letting me buy protein shakes, the more ridiculous thing is that they can't tell the difference between drugs and health supplements like whey and think that they are one and the same, and now when it comes to getting my protein from whole foods, they are still not letting me get the amount of meat I would want since they still think its unhealthy. Any advice?? I almost hit my target weight of around 180 lbs, then after that I'm hoping to cut fat and stay the same weight.
Non-fat greek yogurt and non-fat cottage cheese are so high in protein that a single 12oz serving of either is equivalent to a protein shake.
What is your parents' opinion on white meats and fish?
Hari_Seldon said:Yup, agreed. That's why I said 'primary protein source.'
Non-fat greek yogurt and non-fat cottage cheese are so high in protein that a single 12oz serving of either is equivalent to a protein shake.
What is your parents' opinion on white meats and fish?
Well done sir!
Would even go further and say that an 8 oz serving is more than enough - 30g +.
And Fluidity, go back a few messages to catch up.
FutureisNow said:Well done sir!
Would even go further and say that an 8 oz serving is more than enough - 30g +.
And Fluidity, go back a few messages to catch up.
I actually like greek yogurt (even though I rarely every eat it due to low supply) and that's something that my parents don't mind if I eat everyday, however I'm going to have to convince them to buy more of.
As for fish, they don't really mind me eating fish everyday however it's barely ever bought. White meat on the other hand they don't think negatively about it like red meat and wouldn't mind if I ate it everyday, its just a matter of getting more.
I agree with the above ideas. I don't think that the vegetable sources of protein are great as stand alone sources, but they're terrific as a part of a diverse diet. Red meat, white meat, fish, eggs, legumes and though they are often slammed, tofu and the like can be eaten in combination to create a really great diverse diet. It goes without saying that these should be eaten with a ton of veggies.
While I don't agree with your parents about whey protein, I don't blame them for being concerned about stuff like whey. It's better to have parents that are skeptical of processed stuff than parents who depend on it to feed their families. I think that speaking with a sports nutritionist with them is a great idea. Make sure they ask the tough questions so that they can have their concerns addressed.
I am always interested when I read recommendations for "low fat" foods as this seems to be another way to say "more processed". Processed food is exactly the kind of thing I try to avoid. The problem I see is that in a sense, fat is flavor... remove fat, remove flavor. When processors remove fat they often add sugar and other low nutrient stuff to make up for the reduced flavor.
I don't know if that applies to the low fat foods mentioned above. Maybe folks here can share their knowledge. To be clear, I'm not claiming that my understanding is correct... I honestly want to hear what some of the wise folks here think of this.