Is+Red+Meat+Doing+More+Harm+Than+Good


 * N8866937**
 * Emma Bambling**
 * Tutorial - Friday 9am - 10am Michelle Combs**

(Spinach Girl, 2012)
 * T****OPIC:** The Relationship between Meat and Human Health

This Picture can be found on countless healthy eating websites that encourage good nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices. On the right hand side of the picture there is an obese family holding chicken and milk - animal products. They are asking the fit non meat eating family where they get their protein from if it’s not from animal products and meat. The picture makes you believe in a drastic matter that you can be healthier and have improved health benefits if you don’t consume meat or animal products. It also shows that many people lack education on the right foods to eat and the products that can be substituted for meat. People are over consuming meat and not realising the dramatic affect it causes to their health. Yes there are many benefits of protein in your body but the over consumption can lead to diseases, cancer and even death. It is a topic that people are undereducated on and therefore continuing to over consume the meat. There are many alternative options to get your daily source of protein that is lower in fat and plant basses. The Cancer Council only recommends an intake of 65g to 100g of red meat every 3 to 4 days (Cancer Council Victoria, 2013). Red meat is well known for its high source in protein. It is one of the “big three” nutrients along with carbohydrates and fat. It plays many roles in the body including skin, hair, nails, and metabolism. It is also the building blocks for our body and muscles which makes protein appealing for a lot of men and body builders (Public Health Nutrition, 2012).
 * ARTEFACT**
 * PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE**
 * LITERATURE REVIEW**

Red meat also contains a number of vitamins. These include vitamin A, which is important for healthy bones, teeth, skin and eyes, and vitamin D, which is critical for calcium metabolism and strong bones. Meat also provides B-complex vitamins, including thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid and vitamins B-5, B-6 and B-12. Your body uses these vitamins to help produce energy from your food to support your nervous system and keep your heart healthy. In addition to iron, red meat and poultry also provide several other minerals, including magnesium, potassium, selenium and zinc, all of which are needed to help keep your organs functioning well (Dieticians Association of Australia, 2013). Although there are countless benefits of meat it should always be consumed in moderation. The overconsumption of meat can cause many illnesses, cancer and even death. Too much meat is not good for the heart. Eating red meat delivers L-carnitine to bacteria that live in the human gut. These bacteria digest L-carnitine and turn it into a compound called trimethylamine-N-oxide which has been shown to cause atherosclerosis, the disease process that leads to cholesterol-clogged arteries. Which clogged coronary arteries can lead to heart attacks (Harvard University, 2013)

There are many different types of cancer that the overconsumption of meat can cause however the mean is colorectal cancer. It has been studied most extensively and linked most conclusively to both red and processed meats. Consumption of these meats seems to cause a modest increase in risk of colorectal cancer. Men who eat red meat frequently also appear to have a higher risk of prostate cancer. Lastly, frequent consumption of red meat may raise the risk of breast cancer in women. Aside from these three, various other cancers including stomach, pancreatic, kidney, and oesophageal have been linked to consumption of meat (National Academy of Sciences 2010). A new study adds to the evidence that eating red meat on a regular basis may shorten your lifespan. The findings suggest that meat eaters might help improve their health by substituting other healthy protein sources for some of the red meat they eat (National Institute of Health, 2012).

A research team led by Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health set out to learn more about the association between red meat intake and mortality. They studied over 37,000 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (beginning in 1986) and over 83,000 women from the Nurses' Health Study (beginning in 1980). All the participants were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at the start of the study. The participants filled out food frequency questionnaires every 4 years. The scientists also gathered information every 2 years on a variety of other health factors, including body weight, cigarette smoking and physical activity level. (National Academy of Sciences 2010). Almost 24,000 participants died during the study, including about 5,900 from cardiovascular disease and about 9,500 from cancer. Those who consumed the highest levels of both unprocessed and processed red meat had the highest risk of all-cause of mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality. After adjusting for other risk factors, the researchers calculated that 1 additional serving per day of unprocessed red meat over the course of the study raised the risk of total mortality by 13%. An extra serving of processed red meat raised the risk by 20%.(National Institute of Health, 2012).

The researchers estimated that substituting 1 serving per day of other foods—like fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy and whole grains—for red meat could lower the risk of mortality by 7% to 19%. If the participants had all consumed fewer than half a serving per day (about 1.5 ounces) of red meat, the scientists calculated, 9.3% of the deaths in men and 7.6% of the deaths in women could have been prevented. (National Institute of Health, 2012).

“Our study adds more evidence to the health risks of eating high amounts of red meat, which has been associated with type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and certain cancers in other studies,” says lead author Dr. An Pan. (National Institute of Health, 2012). Both vegetarian diets and prudent diets allowing small amounts of red meat are associated with reduced risk of diseases, particularly CHD and type 2 diabetes. There is limited evidence of an association between vegetarian diets and cancer prevention. Evidence linking red meat intake, particularly processed meat, and increased risk of CHD, cancer and type 2 diabetes is convincing and provides indirect support for consumption of a plant-based diet.

The health benefits of vegetarian diets are not unique. Prudent plant-based dietary patterns which also allow small intakes of red meat, fish and dairy products have demonstrated significant improvements in health status as well. At this time an optimal dietary intake for health status is unknown. Plant-based diets contain a host of food and nutrients known to have independent health benefits. While vegetarian diets have not shown any adverse effects on health, restrictive and monotonous vegetarian diets may result in nutrient deficiencies with deleterious effects on health. For this reason, appropriate advice is important to ensure a vegetarian diet is nutritionally adequate especially for vulnerable groups. The Australian culture loves their red meat however with that comes the overconsumption of meat which eventually ends with people having poor health, poor ethics and a bad diet. Red meat is an important part of a diet and does have many nutritional benefits. However it is the portion size that is the issue for Australians. In restaurants the starting size for meat is around 400g – 500g when it is only recommended to eat 200g a day. This is giving them over the RDI and is making it okay for people to each that much red meat (J.ROOKE, J. FLOCKHART, 2010).
 * CULTRAL AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS**

Another major factor for the overeating of meat in Australia is it can also been seen as a type of social density to some. The stereotypical guy will eat more meat as a source of protein and can grow muscle from it. Because of this meat eating culture, Australia is one of the countries with the highest red meat consumption. Meat is seen to symbolise strength and manhood in the “conquering of beasts” it is stereotypically said, real men eat meat. They are obsessed about meat, and the bigger, redder, bloodier the better. (J.ROOKE, J. FLOCKHART, 2010). They will often brag about how rare they like it; "it should moo at me!" Chicken and (most) fish barely qualify as manly meat, but if the guy is eating poultry, you can bet it's a big greasy drumstick. If it's fish, he probably got it with dynamite or it's some kind of shark. This is even shown in ads on TV pressuring males to think that you have to eat meat to be manly. When Wendy's introduced a new line of salads, their commercials addressed this stigma: a guy is taunted by his buddies for ordering a salad, until they see how delicious it looks (TV Troops, 2013).

The movements and social changes that are being are currently happening is turning into a vegetarian. Vegetarians don’t include any meat in the diet, supplementing iron, protein and other vitamins and minerals that meat would usually provide you with Solomon, Steve; Reinheimer, Erica (2012). This has shown to decrease risks of cancer not including red meat in the diet and has led to a more plant based diet which is better for your overall health compared to over consumption of red meat.(Solomon, Steve; Reinheimer, Erica (2012).

Awareness of the issue is crucial for people to understand the dangers and risks they are taking at over consuming meat. People must be educated and taught the quantity of meat that is safe to consume in their diet. Without being informed of the risks people will continue to over consume meat. Being aware that there are different foods and plants that would can get protein from not just animal based products is important and works out far less fatty.

The artefact clearly is showing the lack of education people have on the nutritional value of some foods. With an overweight family questioning the fit and healthy looking family where they get their source of protein from is they don’t consume meat. This is a clear demonstration that people look took to meat as the main source of protein when it doesn’t have to be. Soy, nut, legumes and grains can be substituted for a large piece of fatty meat that can lead to cancer, illnesses and death. People need to take their health seriously and nourish their bodies. Congesting their arteries with fatty meats and overconsumption of red meats is defiantly doing more harm than good. From this assessment piece I have learnt heaps of information and the nutritional value of meat. I have learnt that through advertisement and general stereotype of people, men feel pressured to order the big steak, eat more of it and more often than women. It is found through most cultures that men consume the meat to appear more manly and masculine It was also found through my studies all the disease and cancers that are linked to the overconsumption of red meat such as colorectal cancer. This news was shocking to me as here in Australia meat is included in most people’s daily diets. Overall this assessment piece has been extremely informative and has allowed me to find out heaps of facts about the overconsumption of red meat and why it occurs.
 * ANALYSIS OF THE ARTEFECT AND OWN LEARNING REFLECTIONS**

Cancer Council Victoria, Red Meat Intake (2013). Online: []
 * REFERENCE LIST**

Dieticians Association of Australia (n.d.) Red meat and mortality. Retrieved October 27,2013 from []

Harvard University (2013), New study links L-carnitine in red meat to heart disease. Online: []

J. A. ROOKE, J. F. FLOCKHART and N. H. SPARKS (2010). The potential for increasing the concentrations of micro-nutrients relevant to human nutrition in meat, milk and eggs. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 148, pp 603-614. doi:10.1017/S002185961000047X.

National Academy of Sciences (2010), Dietary Reference Intakes. Online: []

National Institute of Health, Risk in Red Meat? (March 26, 2012) Online: []

Public Health Nutrition / Volume 15 / Issue 12 / December 2012, pp 2287-2294 Copyright © The Authors 2012 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980012000936 (About DOI), Published online: 03 April 2012

Solomon, Steve; Reinheimer, Erica (2012). The Intelligent Gardener : Growing Nutrient Dense Food. Retrieved from []

Spinach Girl (2012), 9 Healthier Ways to Include Protein into your Diet. Online: []

TV Troops, Real Men Eat Meat (2013), Online: []


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