It is not simply lawful: this question is necessary: ”What happens if I eat meat every day? » The diets that promote a wide consumption of food of animal origin are becoming increasingly popular thanks also to influencers and experts who through social networks such as Instagram promote food regimes that promise quick weight loss and beneficial to health by putting slices and steaks on every meal or almost. However, more and more studies connect a frequent meat consumption such as daily to various ailments and diseases, including chronic ones. To clarify the topic we talked about it with Erika Beatricenutritionist biologist.
What happens if I eat meat every day?
What are the effects and risks of eating meat every day? “In the last decade, several scientific studies have associated a high consumption of red meat (beef, veal, pig, goat, lamb, sheep, horse) and worked meat (salami and sausages) to the onset of various pathologies. In particular, the frequent consumption of these foods increases the risk of contracting cardiovascular diseases, subtypes of cardiovascular diseases (congenital heart disease, stroke and heart failure), type 2 mellitus diabetes and gestational diabetes. In addition, there are solid tests in support of the association between frequent consumption of red meat, especially of worked meat, and tumors. THE’International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) In fact, it has established that red meat is probably carcinogenic (2nd class of its classification) and that transformed red meat (sausages and salami) is certainly carcinogenic (class 1 of the classification of Iarc) “.
Is transformed meat worse than fresh meat?
«By transformed meat we mean the meat that has undergone a process of salting, seasoning, fermentation, smoking or other processes to enhance their flavor or improve its conservation. If assumed frequently, the worked meat is more risky for health than fresh meat. This is due not only to the high quantities of salt, to the harmful carcinogenic substances that are formed during the process of smoking or cooking at high temperatures (IPA and HCA), but also in the presence of additives such as nitrite and nitrates, added preservatives to fix the color, limit microbial growth or develop a distinguishable flavor. Specifically, the potential harmful effect of nitrite and nitrates taken with the diet has been widely investigated, highlighting a possible increase in the risk of tumors, in particular against the gastrointestinal tract “.
What types of meat is better to consume
“White meats (chicken, turkey, rabbit), compared to red meat, are characterized by a lower fat content, a more favorable fatty acid profile (for example, mainly unsaturated fatty acids) and a lower eme iron content. Despite these characteristics, it is not yet clear whether the negative effects on health associated with the consumption of red and processed meat are also shared by white meat. The research to date states that there are no sufficiently reliable studies regarding the possible negative effects on the health of frequent consumption of white meat and that therefore one cannot be pronounced neither in one sense nor in the other “.
Eating meat every day hurts the heart: true or false?
“Real. The frequent consumption of red meat, both transformed and no, has been associated with an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease due to the increase in blood pressure, the worsening of the lipid profile. The saturated fatty acids present in the meat consumed in an excessive way in fact determine an increase in the plasma levels of LDL cholesterol, the production of the TMAO molecule, a molecule produced by the intestinal microbiota starting from the carnitine present in the meat, with the pro-heterogenic and pro-inflammatory effects and by the presence of specific fatty acids such as the arachidonic acid, involved in systemic inflammatory processes and associated with associated with inflammatory processes. A greater incidence of cardiovascular events. Finally, red meat proteins would seem to increase insulin resistance and therefore contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes which, in turn, could determine a higher cardiovascular risk “.
Eating meat every day makes you fat?
“No, there is no food that” makes you fat “in an absolute sense. The daily calorie income is always determined to determine weight. If you take more calories than the body burns, excess energy is stored in the form of fat, “says the expert.
Meat diet: health effects
“Meat is one of the main food sources of high biological value and essential micronutrients with high bioavailability, such as EME iron, zinc and vitamin B12, which play a crucial role in the correct functioning of the human body and are often lacking in food regimes that exclude or limit products of animal origin” explains the nutritionist Erika Beatrice. «Unlike plant proteins, the animals have a complete amino acid profile, that is, they provide all the essential amino acids in the optimal proportions required by human metabolism. EME iron, present exclusively in animal tissues, is absorbed with significantly higher efficacy (up to three times) compared to the iron does not emerge of vegetable origin “says the expert. «Similarly, vitamin B12, fundamental for neurological function and the production of red blood cells, is available in significant quantities only in products of animal origin. The meat also represents a significant source of zinc, an essential mineral for the immune system, the repair of the tissues and the synthesis of DNA. In addition to being present in significant quantities, the zinc of animal origin is absorbed to a significantly higher extent than that of plants, where the presence of fites and fibers hinders its biological availability. These characteristics make meat a food of particular nutritional relevance, especially in vulnerable populations such as children, elderly, pregnant women or subjects with increased nutritional needs “says the nutritionist. “However, a diet that involves taking meat every day, even several times a day, as happens for any food consumed constantly and excessively, may not represent an optimal choice for health. It is therefore essential to promote moderate and aware consumption of meat, inserting it within a varied and balanced diet, in order to preserve long -term health “.
How much flesh you can eat: what the guidelines say
«According to the indications of the Italian society of human nutrition (sinu and the recent reviews of the LARN 2024 (levels of reference to the reference of nutrients and energy)the meat can be part of a healthy diet if consumed carefully. White meats are preferable and can be consumed more frequently or 1-3 times a week with standard portions of 100 grams. The red meats should not be eliminated, but limited 1-2 per week, also with standard portions of 100 grams, raw and net of waste. The meat transformed and preserved (cured meats, sausages, canned meat), on the other hand, must be consumed in moderation, no more than once a week, with portions around 50 grams. The Mediterranean diet does not provide excess or rigid restrictions regarding meat consumption. This balanced approach demonstrates how conscious consumption of meat, inserted in a diet rich in vegetables, fish, legumes and whole grains, can contribute to the maintenance of a good state of health and the prevention of different pathologies “.
