Long story short, those claims are largely exaggerated. Studies have shown that eating good quality red meat is not actually damaging to your health (eating an average amount). It's actually the processed and over-cooked red meat that can be of danger. Organic, grass fed red meat, for example, is actually very nutritious - it's packed full of protein, creatine, iron, zinc, selenium and vitamin b12.
It always seems to lead back to that one word - moderation. If you only ever eat red meat, then too much will begin to cause issues, but that's the case for many foods out there - moderation is key. Certain foods will always be linked to illnesses/diseases and media companies will jump on the band wagon and label them as 'cancerous'
I remember reading one article that talked about a study which showed the diets and lifestyles of a large number of people with cancer and other illnesses. The vast majority of the diets were poor - containing a lot of fatty fast food, alcohol, fizzy drinks and so on. The author of the article actually said that because of studies like that, newspapers and magazines simply assume that foods such as red meat causes cancer - without taking into account any other diet and lifestyle choices.
The bottom line? stick to good quality red meat, and avoid the processed and over-cooked. Oh, and of course, have a healthy diet and lifestyle!
Lee Gregory Fitness
