In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw (and a dark color after it is cooked), in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before (and after) cooking. [1] [2] In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as red or white. [3] [4] In nutritional science, red meat is defined as any meat that has more of the protein myoglobin than white meat. White meat is defined as non-dark meat from fish or chicken (excluding the leg or thigh, which is called dark meat).
Regular consumption of red meat, both unprocessed and especially processed types, has been associated with negative health outcomes.
Name | Myoglobin | USDA category |
---|---|---|
Old beef | 1.50 – 2.00% [5] | Red meat [6] |
Beef | 0.40 – 1.00% [5] | Red meat [6] |
Pork | 0.10 – 0.30% [5] | Red meat [6] |
Veal | 0.10 – 0.30% [5] | Red meat [6] |
Turkey thigh | 0.25 – 0.30% [5] | Dark meat |
Chicken thigh | 0.18 – 0.20% [5] | Dark meat |
Turkey breast | 0.008% [7] | White meat |
Chicken breast | 0.005% [5] | White meat [6] |
Under the culinary definition, the meat from adult or "gamey" mammals (for example, beef, horse, mutton, venison, boar, hare) is red meat, while that from young mammals (rabbit, veal, lamb) is white. Poultry is white, excluding certain birds such as ostriches. [8] Most cuts of pork are red, others are white. [9] Game is sometimes put in a separate category altogether. (French: viandes noires — "dark meats".) [4] Some meats (lamb, pork) are classified differently by different writers.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), all meats obtained from mammals (regardless of cut or age) are red meats because they contain more myoglobin, which gives them their red color, [10] than fish or white meat (but not necessarily dark meat) [5] from chicken. [6] [11] Some cuts of pork are considered white under the culinary definition, but all pork is considered red meat in nutritional studies. The National Pork Board has positioned it as "the other white meat", profiting from the ambiguity to suggest that pork has the nutritional properties of white meat, which is considered more healthful. [12] [13]
Red meat contains large amounts of iron, creatine, minerals such as zinc and phosphorus, and B-vitamins: (niacin, vitamin B12, thiamin and riboflavin). [14] Red meat is a source of lipoic acid.
Red meat contains small amounts of vitamin D. [15] Offal such as liver contains much higher quantities than other parts of the animal. [16]
In 2011, the USDA launched MyPlate, which did not distinguish between kinds of meat, but did recommend eating at least 8 oz (230 g) of fish each week. [17] [18] In 2011, the Harvard School of Public Health launched the Healthy Eating Plate in part because of the perceived inadequacies of the USDA's recommendations. [17] The Healthy Eating Plate encourages consumers to avoid processed meat and limit red meat consumption to twice a week because of links to heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer. To replace these meats it recommends consuming fish, poultry, beans, or nuts. [17]
Overall, diets high in red and processed meats are associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer (particularly colorectal cancer), and all-cause mortality. [19] [20] [21] [22] These associations are strongest for processed meat, which is meat that has undergone salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavor or improve preservation, such as bacon, ham, salami, pepperoni, hot dogs, and some sausages. [23]
A 2021 umbrella review that sees an increase of 11–51% risk of multiple cancer per 100g/d increment of red meat, and an increase of 8-72% risk of multiple cancer per 50g/d increment of processed meat. [24]
A 2022 study challenged the dose-response relationship using a newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF). It found weak evidence available regarding whether eating red meat increases the risk of death. The authors conclude that the quality of the available evidence is insufficient to make stronger or more conclusive recommendations regarding the health effects of eating red meat. [25] However the BPRF approach has been criticised for being overly simplistic. [26]
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies processed meat as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on "sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer." [27] Unprocessed red meat is categorised as "probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A), based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect." [23] [28] Positive associations have also been observed between red meat consumption and increased risks of pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer but the link is not as clear. [23] The American Cancer Society have stated "evidence that red and processed meats increase cancer risk has existed for decades, and many health organizations recommend limiting or avoiding these foods." [29]
The American Institute for Cancer Research, Cancer Research UK and World Cancer Research Fund International have stated there is strong evidence that consumption of processed red meat is a cause of colorectal cancer and there is probable evidence that unprocessed red meat is a cause of cancer. [30] [31] [32] Put in perspective in the UK, adults eating processed and red meat at 79g per day on average had a 32% increased risk of colorectal cancer compared to those eating less than 11g per day. [33]
A 2023 review found that high consumption of red meat is associated with increased risk of gastrointestinal cancer. [34]
Heme iron in red meat has been associated with increased colorectal cancer risk. [35] The American Institute for Cancer Research and World Cancer Research Fund have commented that "haem iron, which is present at high levels in red meat, has been shown to promote colorectal tumorigenesis by stimulating the endogenous formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compound." [36]
A 2017 literature review indicated there are numerous potential carcinogens of colorectal tissue in red meat, particularly those in processed red meat products, such as N-nitroso compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heterocyclic amines (HCAs). [37] Cooking meat with "high-temperature methods, such as pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame", also causes formation of PAHs and HCAs. [38]
Red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. [39] [40] Factors associated with increased stroke risk from consuming red meat include saturated fats that increase levels of blood cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and heme iron, which may precipitate atherogenesis in cerebral arteries, leading to stroke. [41]
In 2020, the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand Expert Nutrition Policy (ENP) issued a position statement that concluded that high consumption of red meat increases risk of heart disease and stroke by 16% therefore one should aim to reduce consumption of red meat below 350g per week and replace meat with plant sources of protein. [39] [42]
A 2022 umbrella review found that consuming an additional 100g of red meat per day was associated with a 17% increased risk of diabetes. [43] Another review found that red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of diabetes. [44]
A 2017 review found that daily consumption of 85 grams of red meat and 35 grams of processed red meat products by European and American consumers increased their risk of type 2 diabetes by 18–36%, while a diet of abstinence of red meat consuming whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and dairy was associated with an 81% reduced risk of diabetes. [45] One study estimated that "substitutions of one serving of nuts, low-fat dairy, and whole grains per day for one serving of red meat per day were associated with a 16–35% lower risk of type 2 diabetes". [46]
A 2023 review found that both processed and unprocessed red meat consumption increase type 2 diabetes risk. [47]
The European Association for the Study of Diabetes recommends people with diabetes to minimise the consumption of red meat. [48]
Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as yogurt, cheese, milk and butter. A facility that produces dairy products is a dairy. Dairy products are consumed worldwide to varying degrees. Some people avoid some or all dairy products because of lactose intolerance, veganism, environmental concerns, other health reasons or beliefs.
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking. As a processed meat, the term ham includes both whole cuts of meat and ones that have been mechanically formed. Regular consumption of especially the processed version is associated with negative health outcomes.
Meat is animal tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals, including chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cattle, starting around 11,000 years ago. Since then, selective breeding has enabled farmers to produce meat with the qualities desired by producers and consumers.
Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein, as well as low carbohydrate foods.
The Mediterranean diet is a diet inspired by the eating habits and traditional food typical of southern Spain, southern Italy, and Crete, and formulated in the early 1960s. It is distinct from Mediterranean cuisine, which covers the actual cuisines of the Mediterranean countries, and from the Atlantic diet of northwestern Spain and Portugal. While inspired by a specific time and place, the "Mediterranean diet" was later refined based on the results of multiple scientific studies.
Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, delicatessens, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in sandwiches or on a tray. They can be purchased pre-sliced, usually in vacuum packs, or they can be sliced to order.
A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. Plant-based diets encompass a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. They do not need to be vegan or vegetarian, but are defined in terms of low frequency of animal food consumption.
In organic chemistry, nitrosamines are organic compounds with the chemical structure R2N−N=O, where R is usually an alkyl group. They feature a nitroso group bonded to a deprotonated amine. Most nitrosamines are carcinogenic in nonhuman animals. A 2006 systematic review supports a "positive association between nitrite and nitrosamine intake and gastric cancer, between meat and processed meat intake and gastric cancer and oesophageal cancer, and between preserved fish, vegetable and smoked food intake and gastric cancer, but is not conclusive".
In biochemistry and nutrition, a monounsaturated fat is a fat that contains a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), a subclass of fatty acid characterized by having a double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the remaining carbon atoms being single-bonded. By contrast, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have more than one double bond.
A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.
Processed meat is considered to be any meat that has been modified in order to either improve its taste or to extend its shelf life. Methods of meat processing include salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, boiling, frying, and/or the addition of chemical preservatives. Processed meat is usually composed of pork or beef or, less frequently, poultry. It can also contain offal or meat by-products such as blood. Processed meat products include bacon, ham, sausages, salami, corned beef, jerky, hot dogs, lunch meat, canned meat, chicken nuggets, and meat-based sauces. Meat processing includes all the processes that change fresh meat with the exception of simple mechanical processes such as cutting, grinding or mixing.
In culinary terms, white meat is meat which is pale in color before and after cooking. In traditional gastronomy, white meat also includes rabbit, the flesh of milk-fed young mammals, and sometimes pork. In ecotrophology and nutritional studies, white meat includes poultry and fish, but excludes all mammal flesh, which is considered red meat.
Heterocyclic amines, also sometimes referred to as HCAs, are chemical compounds containing at least one heterocyclic ring, which by definition has atoms of at least two different elements, as well as at least one amine (nitrogen-containing) group. Typically it is a nitrogen atom of an amine group that also makes the ring heterocyclic, though compounds exist in which this is not the case. The biological functions of heterocyclic amines vary, including vitamins and carcinogens. Carcinogenic heterocyclic amines are created by high temperature cooking of meat and smoking of plant matter like tobacco. Some well known heterocyclic amines are niacin, nicotine, and the nucleobases that encode genetic information in DNA.
Dietary factors are recognized as having a significant effect on the risk of cancers, with different dietary elements both increasing and reducing risk. Diet and obesity may be related to up to 30–35% of cancer deaths, while physical inactivity appears to be related to 7% risk of cancer occurrence.
The Western pattern diet is a modern dietary pattern that is generally characterized by high intakes of pre-packaged foods, refined grains, red meat, processed meat, high-sugar drinks, candy and sweets, fried foods, industrially produced animal products, butter and other high-fat dairy products, eggs, potatoes, corn, and low intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pasture-raised animal products, fish, nuts, and seeds.
Animal source foods (ASF) include many food items that come from an animal source such as fish, meat, dairy, eggs and honey. Many individuals consume little ASF or even none for long periods of time by either personal choice or necessity, as ASF may not be accessible or available to these people.
Humans and their hominid relatives have consumed eggs for millions of years. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especially chickens. People in Southeast Asia began harvesting chicken eggs for food by 1500 BCE. Eggs of other birds, such as ducks and ostriches, are eaten regularly but much less commonly than those of chickens. People may also eat the eggs of reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Fish eggs consumed as food are known as roe or caviar.
Diet plays an important role in the genesis of obesity. Personal choices, food advertising, social customs and cultural influences, as well as food availability and pricing all play a role in determining what and how much an individual eats.
Heterocyclic amines are a group of chemical compounds, many of which can be formed during cooking. They are found in meats that are cooked to the "well done" stage, in pan drippings and in meat surfaces that show a brown or black crust. Epidemiological studies show associations between intakes of heterocyclic amines and cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, prostate, pancreas, lung, stomach, and esophagus, and animal feeding experiments support a causal relationship. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service labeled several heterocyclic amines as likely carcinogens in its 13th Report on Carcinogens. Changes in cooking techniques reduce the level of heterocyclic amines.
Cancer prevention is the practice of taking active measures to decrease the incidence of cancer and mortality. The practice of prevention is dependent upon both individual efforts to improve lifestyle and seek preventive screening, and socioeconomic or public policy related to cancer prevention. Globalized cancer prevention is regarded as a critical objective due to its applicability to large populations, reducing long term effects of cancer by promoting proactive health practices and behaviors, and its perceived cost-effectiveness and viability for all socioeconomic classes.
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