{"id":50973,"date":"2019-10-01T14:19:14","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T18:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973"},"modified":"2019-10-01T14:32:24","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T18:32:24","slug":"is-red-meat-healthy-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973","title":{"rendered":"Is Red Meat Healthy Now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was big news in the nutrition world yesterday when the\u00a0New York Times\u00a0<\/em>ran a large story on \u201can international collaboration of researchers\u201d that have overturned long-held advice that Americans should limit their consumption of red and processed meats: Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The report (available online at Annals of Internal Medicine<\/a>) has sparked a wildfire of commentary and controversy. The Times<\/em>article itself gives voice to several prominent critics of the new guideline, and Twitter is predictably engulfed in argument. Although the guideline is the result of an immense effort \u2013 \u201cthe largest such evaluations ever attempted\u201d \u2013\u00a0 with the debate still raging, we can\u2019t yet say that it represents anything resembling a scientific consensus. There\u2019s no telling how influential it will prove to be with consumers, with doctors, or with the technocrats that collaborate on official dietary recommendations.<\/p>\n

Whether the new report influences future national guidelines or not, the about-face should be unsurprising to anyone half paying attention to nutrition science in recent years. A thumbs-up for red and processed meats is only the latest of several such reversals: butter<\/a>, saturated fats<\/a>, eggs<\/a> and salt<\/a> have all had their own comebacks.<\/p>\n

What we see is the medical establishment slowly grappling with the realization that much of our received wisdom on healthy diets is simply false. Some of the most notable scientific conclusions upon which our modern understanding of nutrition was based have been decisively<\/a>debunked<\/a>. Whether these myths were spread due to honest error, stupidity or conspiracy, the results have been disastrous, especially for people with diabetes or at risk of developing it. Generations have been driven towards excessive carbohydrate consumption, sending blood sugars and insulin resistance skyrocketing, and triggering a bewildering number of negative health consequences.<\/p>\n

To be clear, the study does not make a positive case for the wholesomeness of red and processed meats.The study publishes roughly the same statistics that anti-meat critics brandish, the ones that show that red and processed meats intake are modestly correlated with cancer, heart disease and early death. The authors weigh these statistics but ultimately dispute them, based on two arguments.<\/p>\n

First, the authors are not convinced that the numbers can be trusted. Even after surveying an immense swathe of medical literature, the researchers concluded that there simply wasn\u2019t much worthwhile evidence out there. Previous guidelines have been largely based on observational studies, which the authors characterize as \u201clow- or very low-certainty evidence.\u201d Many have sharply criticized the nutrition establishment for its reliance on this dubious form of evidence; Gary Taubes, a journalist that has written extensively in favor of low-carbohydrate diets, has been beating this drum for over a decade<\/a>. Mindful of the lack of good evidence, the authors of the new guidelines labelled even their own conclusions as \u201cweak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second, the authors contend that even if the statistics were perfectly reliable (\u201cwhich we believe to be implausible,\u201d), they aren\u2019t really bad enough to worry about. Most of the negative outcomes discussed were seen to affect fewer than one in a hundred people. A separate analysis concluded that most people just don\u2019t care about changes of this small magnitude.<\/p>\n

The study has also been criticized for glossing over other significant considerations: concerns over both the ethical treatment of animals and the environmental degradation that the global livestock industry is believed to cause.<\/p>\n

So is red meat healthy now? We don\u2019t know. We have weak evidence of weak correlations, weakly implying causation. Experts split on their interpretation. But this new reversal by some scientists serves as a poignant reminder of the very many times that we have been badly served by doctors and nutrition experts in the past.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":437,"featured_media":50978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1453],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs Red Meat Healthy Now?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There was big news in the nutrition world yesterday when theNew York Times\u00a0ran a large story on \u201can international collaboration of researchers\u201d that have overturned long-held advice that Americans should limit their consumption of red and processed meats: Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ross Wollen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973\",\"name\":\"Is Red Meat Healthy Now?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/iStock_Freshrawredmeat-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-01T18:19:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-10-01T18:32:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dad5417f3e14b1fd142730c7fa616283\"},\"description\":\"There was big news in the nutrition world yesterday when theNew York Times\u00a0ran a large story on \u201can international collaboration of researchers\u201d that have overturned long-held advice that Americans should limit their consumption of red and processed meats: Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/iStock_Freshrawredmeat-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/iStock_Freshrawredmeat-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1449,\"caption\":\"Is Red Meat Healthy Now?\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is Red Meat Healthy Now?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dad5417f3e14b1fd142730c7fa616283\",\"name\":\"Ross Wollen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3baf28ef14013e66fec763fe108e4bff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3baf28ef14013e66fec763fe108e4bff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ross Wollen\"},\"description\":\"Ross Wollen is a chef and writer based in Maine's Midcoast region. Before moving East, Ross was a veteran of the Bay Area restaurant and artisanal food scenes; he has also worked as a food safety consultant. As executive chef of Belcampo Meat Co., Ross helped launch the bone broth craze. Since his diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes in 2017, he has focused on exploring the potential of naturally low-carb cooking. Follow Ross on Twitter: @RossWollen\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/RossWollen\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=437\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is Red Meat Healthy Now?","description":"There was big news in the nutrition world yesterday when theNew York Times\u00a0ran a large story on \u201can international collaboration of researchers\u201d that have overturned long-held advice that Americans should limit their consumption of red and processed meats: Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ross Wollen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973","name":"Is Red Meat Healthy Now?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/iStock_Freshrawredmeat-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2019-10-01T18:19:14+00:00","dateModified":"2019-10-01T18:32:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dad5417f3e14b1fd142730c7fa616283"},"description":"There was big news in the nutrition world yesterday when theNew York Times\u00a0ran a large story on \u201can international collaboration of researchers\u201d that have overturned long-held advice that Americans should limit their consumption of red and processed meats: Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/iStock_Freshrawredmeat-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/iStock_Freshrawredmeat-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1449,"caption":"Is Red Meat Healthy Now?"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=50973#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is Red Meat Healthy Now?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dad5417f3e14b1fd142730c7fa616283","name":"Ross Wollen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3baf28ef14013e66fec763fe108e4bff?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3baf28ef14013e66fec763fe108e4bff?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ross Wollen"},"description":"Ross Wollen is a chef and writer based in Maine's Midcoast region. Before moving East, Ross was a veteran of the Bay Area restaurant and artisanal food scenes; he has also worked as a food safety consultant. As executive chef of Belcampo Meat Co., Ross helped launch the bone broth craze. Since his diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes in 2017, he has focused on exploring the potential of naturally low-carb cooking. Follow Ross on Twitter: @RossWollen","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/RossWollen"],"url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=437"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50973"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/437"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50973"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50980,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50973\/revisions\/50980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/50978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}