Wednesday, April 1, 2009
College students who enjoy red meat may want to reconsider ordering a hamburger or steak after recent studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute.
A new study released by the Archives of Internal Medicine on March 23 found that Americans with red-meat-rich diets decreased their life spans and put themselves at risk for heart disease and various forms of cancer.
The National Cancer Institute conducted the decade-long study using 545,000 men and women between 50 and 71 years of age. During the 10-year study, 71,252 people, or 13 percent, died.
Ann Chapman, registered dietician at the Watkins Memorial Health Center, said that although there wasn’t an ideal amount of any food in any diet, people needed to be conscious of how much meat they ate.
“Young adults should realize the eating habits they have now will contribute to either higher risk for heart disease and cancer due to their amount of meat consumption,” Chapman said.
She said eating habits developed in college often carried over to students’ post-college lives.
Dantes Louis, Wichita junior, said he ate meat four to five times a week.
As the food manager for Stephenson Scholarship Hall, Louis said, he tried to make meat a regular component of meals.
“I balance it out with vegetables,” Louis said. “But the first thing I’ll eat is meat.”
Chapman said small amounts of lean red meat were beneficial in diets and provided essential minerals such as iron and zinc. She also said that meats were good sources of vitamin B and protein, but that brisket, hamburgers and rib-eye steaks generally had undesirably high fat contents.
The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 5.5 ounces of protein every day, including legumes, eggs, peanut butter, tofu and lean cuts of meat.
According to the guidelines, most Americans already consume enough protein and should increase their fruit, vegetable, whole grain and low-fat dairy intake.
Brian Phillips, meat and seafood manager at the Lawrence Community Mercantile, has worked in the meat industry for three years. He said he thought Americans consumed too much meat.
Phillips said consumers could trim high-fat meats from their diets by purchasing grass-fed beef, which had one-third less saturated fat, and by eating more lean meats such as chicken.
For $1 to $3 more per pound, Phillips said customers could enjoy a cut of beef that had a low amount of saturated fat and that was locally raised and butchered.
Phillips said consumers should also be conscious of the preservatives in processed meats.
“Just read the label — you’ll be surprised what you find,” he said.
Peter Beyer, associate professor of dietetics and nutrition and a registered dietician, said meat consumption was only one of many health concerns.
“It’s not any more of a villain than other things,” he said. “But it does increase the risk of chronic disease.”
Beyer said people could easily make adjustments to their diets to avoid the risk of heart disease and cancer.
“I recommend that people take things in small steps — portion sizes and lower fats to start,” he said.
— — Edited by Grant Treaster
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