I�m writing this newsletter on the anniversary of a
controversial study published last year in the Journal of the American
Medical Association (Vol. 293, No. 2: 172-182) that analyzed the risks
associated with eating meat.
The study concluded that the people who ate the most red
meat were 30%-40% more likely to develop cancer in the lower part of the colon,
compared with people who ate the least. And people who ate the most processed
meats were 50% more likely to develop colon cancer and 20% more likely to
develop rectal cancer compared to those who ate the least.
For red meat (beef, lamb, pork (and no, pork is not the
"other white meat")), the researchers defined "high"
consumption as 3 or more ounces per day for men -- or about the amount of meat
in a fast-food hamburger. (Keep in mind a "quarter pounder" is 4
ounces.) For women, the "high" amount was 2 or more ounces per day.
For processed meat (bacon, sausage, hot dogs, ham, cold cuts, etc.)
"high" consumption was 1 ounce eaten 5 or 6 days per week for men,
and 2 or 3 days per week for women.
As a side note, eating poultry and fish did not raise the risk
of colon cancer. In fact, people who ate more poultry and fish than red meat
were less likely to develop the disease. (But don�t get too excited just
because we�re not talking about bird flu and mercury poisoning in this
particular issue of the newsletter.)
The study did not compare meat eaters with people who ate no
meat because too few participants reported eating no meat.
The
Defense
There are several factors the study did not take into account,
factors which most likely would significantly change the outcome. If one were
to eat organic, grass fed meat, differences would include:
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No antibiotics. Almost all commercial meat today is injected
with antibiotics to increase growth and prevent the spread of disease.
Unfortunately, the antibiotics then kill all of the beneficial bacteria in your
colon when you eat the meat -- creating a state of dysbiosis in the colon,
which contributes significantly to the incidence of colon cancer.
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No growth hormone. Growth hormones used in cattle raised in the
United States have been implicated in colon cancer, not to mention breast and
prostate cancer too.
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No pesticide concentrations. Most people are not aware that
pesticide levels are higher in animals than plants. To put it simply, cattle
eat feed grown with pesticides. The pesticides from the hundreds and hundreds
of pounds of feed they eat do not leave the animals bodies, but rather
concentrate in their flesh. And as we all know, pesticides have been linked to
higher rates of cancer among farm workers.
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No animals fed on diets that include eating their brothers and
sisters. Well that�s not really a cancer issue. That�s more of a mad cow thing.
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Improved Omega-6:Omega-3 fatty acid ratios. As I have pointed
out repeatedly, the imbalance in the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids is
one of the single greatest dietary risks we face. It likely plays a role in
everything from heart disease to cancer. Note: grain fed beef is extremely
high in Omega-6 fatty acids (reflecting the high Omega-6 content of the grain
itself). Grass fed beef is much closer to the ideal
1:1, 2:1 ratio your body needs.
But keep in mind that even with organic, grass-fed beef, you
still have several major negatives:
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Meat lowers your overall body pH, and cancer thrives in a low pH
environment.
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Meat has no fiber, none, zero, nada. A high meat diet tends to
hang around for a long time in your intestinal tract.
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And finally, the human digestive tract is just not designed to
handle large quantities of meat. No, really, despite what you read about zone
diets and caveman diets, the human digestive tract has nothing in common with
the digestive tract of carnivores. If you haven�t already done so, you can
download a free copy of Lessons from the Miracle Doctors at www.jonbarron.org. Check
out Chapter 6, which covers this in detail.
Conclusions
But all that said, I am not advocating that you eat meat. I go
right back to the conclusion I presented in Lessons from the Miracle
Doctors a number of years ago: eating small amounts of meat comes down to
a personal/moral decision -- provided:
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You keep consumption low. Ten years ago, I tagged the number at
3 ounces a day or less. That number still holds.
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Go for organic.
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Go for grass fed.
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Make sure you supplement with psyllium seed husks or ground flax
seed to compensate for the lack of fiber.
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Make sure you supplement with probiotics to help repair the
damage to beneficial bacteria in the colon.
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And make sure you use a supplement that helps alkalinize the
body to compensate for the acid forming potential of the meat.