I get excited by the amount of nutrition research and all the new findings – and it does make healthy eating challenging at times. I’ve recently come across arguments for and against the heme iron in red meat.
The argument against red meat:
The American Institute for Cancer Research has recently published the results of its second expert report. They found convincing evidence in a major review of published research that more than 18 ounces of cooked red meat per week significantly increases the risk of colorectal cancer.
They think that the heme iron in red meat could raise levels of compounds that irritate the colon. Alternatively it could be due to certain bacterial activity in connection with the red meat. Either way, it seems wise to limit red meat to less than 18 ounces a week.
The argument for red meat:
I recently attended a lecture given by researcher and professor Alan Titchenal from the University of Hawaii. He told our group of local dietitians that iron deficiency often goes undetected.
We usually base iron status on blood levels of iron – primarily hemoglobin and hematocrit. Iron is used by many body organs (including thyroid, brain, liver and heart), yet the body will take it from the organs to maintain adequate blood levels.
Therefore the blood level of iron could look good, while indeed the levels in our other body systems are low.
I found this fascinating – especially considering most multivitamin and mineral supplements for men and post-menopausal women don’t contain iron. We don’t need the full 18 mg of iron that is recommended for menstruating women. But we need some!
Dr Titchenal believes that our efforts to eat healthy by having less red meat could be hurting our iron levels. Many of us have stopped eating red meats which are one of the better easy-to-absorb sources of iron.
Personally, I wonder if it is really the red meat itself that is a cancer risk? Could the problem be the type of meat we eat with our current feedlot practices of fattening animals quickly with grain feeds – and also that we eat too much?
We know that keeping portions of meats small and choosing lean cuts makes a difference for heart health. And we know that animals that have been primarily grass fed are leaner and have a healthier ration of omega 3 to omega 6 fats.
My recommendations:
Include some red meat in your diet, but less than 18 oz per week. If you have the recommended 3-4 oz serving (about the size of a deck of cards), you could have up to 4 servings a week. Buy 4 oz of raw meat per person to get a 3 oz cooked portion.
Choose lean cuts and when possible purchase meats that come from animals that have been grass fed without hormones or antibiotics.
If you take a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement, choose one with a low dose (8 – 10 mg) of iron. Or take a regular multi (with 18 mg of iron) every other day.
My own plan is to include one red meat dinner per week with a 3 oz portion size for me (Bill gets 4-5 oz because he is larger and doesn’t always have protein at lunch). Some weeks the left-overs will provide a second meal. And I just purchased some multi’s with a small amount of iron.
Check out my website for more nutrition information and for my monthly newsletter, the Wellness News: http://HealthyHabitsCoach.com.
