Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Red Meat: Cut Back, Don't Cut Out


The thought of a premature death due to red meat consumption hasn’t steered University of Mississippi students away from hamburgers and hotdogs at Oxford’s Sonic fast-food restaurant. “These pickle-O’s are probably worse for me than this burger,” said junior Walker Wroe.

A recent Harvard study suggested that individuals who consume red meat more than twice a week would increase their mortality rate by twelve percent. The conclusion of the study, which was published in the Internal Archives of Medicine, found that heart disease, colorectal cancer and high cholesterol were all associated with increased red meat consumption.

“It is important to note that an association does not mean a cause, and because of that, we are not telling people to quit eating red meat,” said Teresa Carithers, a registered dietitian and associate professor of nutrition at the University of Mississippi. Carithers said that the study’s findings as well as any other related research shouldn’t altogether alter a person’s diet, but that it should instead serve as a reminder that we need variation in what we eat. Jennifer Peterson reports.



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