"Should You Keep Eating Red Meat? Controversial Study Says Well-Known Health Risks Are Just Bad Science"
A new report suggests longstanding guidelines that red meat is bad for your health may not be true. Groups like American Heart Association and World Cancer Research Fund recommend people reduce red meat consumption, and the World Health Organization in 2015 even classified processed red meat as a human carcinogen and said all red meat consumption was probably carcinogenic. The study's authors reject these sweeping public health claims. However, the paper has drawn sharp criticism from some researchers in the scientific community who say evidence does show the link between eating red meat and health problems. "If you really want to look at the bottom line, nutrition is more about eating patterns and lifestyle than it is about a single, particular food," Dr. Jeffrey Mechanick, medical director of the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Cardiovascular Health at Mount Sinai Heart said. “For some, eating red meat is a fact of life. But how the meat is prepared and what it is served with also matters. Meat cooked in heavy grease or served with foods high in sodium and saturated fats should not be overconsumed,” he adds.
— Jeffrey Mechanick, MD, Director, Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Center for Cardiovascular Health, Mount Sinai Heart, Director, Metabolic Support, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease, Professor, Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai