The news this week reported that red and processed meat are indeed OK to eat without adverse health effects. The recent analysis failed to find any certainty that eating red meat or processed meat causes cancer, diabetes or heart disease. Fad Free says, “don’t believe it.” There’s substantial evidence that processed meat can cause bowel and colorectal cancers — so much so that the World Health Organization has classified it as carcinogenic since 2015.  Processed meats include: ham, bacon, sausage, corned beef, hot dogs, jerky and salami.

In North America, the average red meat intake is 2-4 servings per week, a realistic reduction would be cutting red meat intake servings by half per week.  For instance, if you currently eat 6 servings of red meat per week, decrease to 3 servings per week.  

Fad Free recommends replacing some red meat intake with whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat, barley, farro), fish, fresh fruit and vegetables.  Maybe now is the time to try lean protein sources such as lean chicken or turkey. Or, maybe even trying a plant based alternative such as the Impossible Burger. 

Additionally, the latest study only considered the impact of red meat consumption on human health, excluding such issues as animal rights and the impact of meat consumption on the environment.  How hard do you think this will be for you?  Give it a try, you may surprise yourself.