Meat and Health: The Facts From a Medical Standpoint
More and more research is released all the time about meat and health, with many studies proving that meat isn’t all that good for you after all. But what are the facts from a medical standpoint?
Continue reading to learn more about what doctors have had to say about meat and health, and to discover how to make the right decisions for your long-term wellbeing.
The Increased Risk of Illness When You Eat Too Much Meat
The Western diet is packed with meat, poultry, and seafood, but a study that recruited nearly 100,000 individuals has found that a plant-based diet could actually cut your risk of heart disease down by a third, and it could also reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and high blood pressure by 50%. On top of that, researchers have also found that your risk of developing colon cancer will drop by around 20% when you follow a plant-based diet that does not include meat. This research has proven that diet really does have a profound impact upon your short-term and long-term health, and food can really be your medicine.
Meat and an Increased Risk of Cancer
Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has found that dietary factors will account for a minimum of 30% of all of the cancers in the Western world, along with upwards of 20% of the cancers in developing nations.
When cancer researchers began searching for a link between cancer and diet, what they found was that individuals who avoided eating meat were less likely to develop cancer. Large studies in Germany and England even proved that vegetarians would be roughly 40% less likely to get cancer when compared to those who eat meat. And meat can also affect hormone production, increasing your risk of developing hormone-related cancers like prostate and breast cancers.
Why is there this connection in the first place? Well, meat doesn’t contain any fiber, and it also lacks other important nutrients that provide protection from illness. On top of that, meat contains harmful saturated fat and carcinogenic compounds.
Now that you know a bit more about the connection between meat and health problems, you can start taking the appropriate steps to reduce your intake of meat products every day. It’s easier than you think, thanks to the many meat substitutes that are now available, as well as the wide variety of grains, fruits, and veggies that make the perfect ingredients for healthy and tasty meals throughout the day.
