Should dietary guidelines recommend low red meat intake?

Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition ^ | 9-5-2019 | Frédéric Leroy & Nathan Cofnas

[mlo]

Abstract

Mainstream dietary recommendations now commonly advise people to minimize the intake of red meat for health and environmental reasons. Most recently, a major report issued by the EAT-Lancet Commission recommended a planetary reference diet mostly based on plants and with no or very low (14 g/d) consumption of red meat. We argue that claims about the health dangers of red meat are not only improbable in the light of our evolutionary history, they are far from being supported by robust scientific evidence.

[mlo]

"Humans are biologically adapted to a diet that includes meat. Archeological findings suggest that hominins were butchering animals with stone tools 2.5 million years ago (de Heinzelin et al., 1999 de Heinzelin, J., J. D. Clark, T. White, W. Hart, P. Renne, G. WoldeGabriel, Y. Beyene, and E. Vrba. 1999. Environment and behavior of 2.5-million-year-old bouri hominids. Science 284 (5414):625–9. doi: 10.1126/science.284.5414.625. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ). At some point we lost the ability to absorb vitamin B12 in the large intestine, where it is produced by gut bacteria, making man dependent on dietary sources of the vitamin (Schjønsby, 1989 Schjønsby, H. 1989. Vitamin B12 absorption and malabsorption. Gut 30 (12):1686–91. doi: 10.1136/gut.30.12.1686. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ). Presumably our ancestors were able to survive losing this ability because they were regularly consuming B12-rich meat (Lents, 2018 Lents, N.H. 2018. The evolutionary quirk that made vitamin B12 part of our diet. Discover. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2018/08/13/vitamin-b12-essential/#.XUMXUOgzY2w . [Google Scholar] ). Hominin skeletal remains from 1.5 million years ago show signs of porotic hyperostosis, which is generally linked to B12 deficiency and is virtually absent in chimpanzees who still obtain B12 from gut bacteria (Domínguez-Rodrigo et al., 2012 Domínguez-Rodrigo, Manuel, Travis Rayne Pickering, Fernando Diez-Martín, Audax Mabulla, Charles Musiba, Gonzalo Trancho, Enrique Baquedano, Henry T. Bunn, Doris Barboni, Manuel Santonja., et al. 2012. Earliest porotic hyperostosis on a 1.5-million-year-old hominin, olduvai gorge, tanzania. PLOS ONE 7 (10):e46414. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046414. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ). This provides some evidence that “by at least the early Pleistocene meat had become so essential to proper hominin functioning that its paucity or lack led to deleterious pathological conditions” (Domínguez-Rodrigo et al., 2012 Domínguez-Rodrigo, Manuel, Travis Rayne Pickering, Fernando Diez-Martín, Audax Mabulla, Charles Musiba, Gonzalo Trancho, Enrique Baquedano, Henry T. Bunn, Doris Barboni, Manuel Santonja., et al. 2012. Earliest porotic hyperostosis on a 1.5-million-year-old hominin, olduvai gorge, tanzania. PLOS ONE 7 (10):e46414. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046414. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ). Over time our capacity to convert the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), found in plants, to the biologically important eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) forms (found primarily in seafood, but also in meat, eggs, and dairy; Tur et al., 2012 Tur, J. A., M. M. Bibiloni, A. Sureda, and A. Pons. 2012. Dietary sources of omega 3 fatty acids: public health risks and benefits. British Journal of Nutrition 107 (S2):S23–S52. doi: 10.1017/S0007114512001456. [Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar] ) became greatly reduced in comparison to other primates (Stark et al., 2016 Stark, A. H., R. Reifen, and M. A. Crawford. 2016. Past and present insights on alpha-linolenic acid and the omega-3 fatty acid family. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 56 (14):2261–7. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2013.828678 [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ). The shift to energy-dense meat caused our guts, particularly our large intestines, to shrink significantly compared to those of apes. Gut proportions in humans are also adapted to meat eating. Our small intestine (in which most nutrients are extracted) comprises 56% of total gut volume, while the large intestine comprises about 20%—these proportions are reversed in apes (Milton, 2003 Milton, K. 2003. The critical role played by animal source foods in human (Homo) evolution. The Journal of Nutrition 133 (11 Suppl 2):3886S–92S. doi: 10.1093/jn/133.11.3886S. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ). Meat eating, and the concomitant reduction in size of the energy-consuming gut, is believed to have played an essential role in the increase of brain size in the hominin lineage. Because the brain and gut compete for energy, the former was able to increase in size when the latter became smaller (Aiello & Wheeler, 1995 Aiello, L. C., and P. Wheeler. 1995. The expensive-tissue hypothesis: the brain and the digestive system in human and primate evolution. Current Anthropology 36 (2):199–221. doi: 10.1086/204350. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ). Gupta (2016 Gupta, S. 2016. Brain food: clever eating. Nature 531 (7592):S12–S13. doi: 10.1038/531S12a. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ) expounds: “To build and maintain a more complex brain, our ancestors used ingredients found primarily in meat, including iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and fatty acids. Although plants contain many of the same nutrients, they occur in lower quantities and often in a form that humans cannot readily use.”

[mlo]

I’ll fix that.

[dfwgator]

Most recently, a major report issued by the EAT-Lancet Commission recommended a planetary reference diet mostly based on plants and with no or very low (14 g/d) consumption of red meat.

Who paid for the report?

[DIRTYSECRET]

We cook our meat so therefore we weren’t carnivores. Meat consumption HAS contributed to longer life spans. Rabbit food is good for you. So what’s left is the carbs + the booze. Killers. Which goes to prove the good things in life are either illegal or fattening.

[mlo]

Humans are biologically adapted to a diet that includes meat. Archeological findings suggest that hominins were butchering animals with stone tools 2.5 million years ago. Environment and behavior of 2.5-million-year-old bouri hominids.

At some point we lost the ability to absorb vitamin B12 in the large intestine, where it is produced by gut bacteria, making man dependent on dietary sources of the vitamin (Schjønsby, 1989 Schjønsby, H. 1989. Vitamin B12 absorption and malabsorption. Presumably our ancestors were able to survive losing this ability because they were regularly consuming B12-rich meat.

Hominin skeletal remains from 1.5 million years ago show signs of porotic hyperostosis, which is generally linked to B12 deficiency and is virtually absent in chimpanzees who still obtain B12 from gut bacteria. Earliest porotic hyperostosis on a 1.5-million-year-old hominin, olduvai gorge, tanzania.

This provides some evidence that “by at least the early Pleistocene meat had become so essential to proper hominin functioning that its paucity or lack led to deleterious pathological conditions”. Earliest porotic hyperostosis on a 1.5-million-year-old hominin, olduvai gorge, tanzania.

Over time our capacity to convert the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), found in plants, to the biologically important eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) forms (found primarily in seafood, but also in meat, eggs, and dairy. Dietary sources of omega 3 fatty acids became greatly reduced in comparison to other primates. The shift to energy-dense meat caused our guts, particularly our large intestines, to shrink significantly compared to those of apes. Gut proportions in humans are also adapted to meat eating. Our small intestine (in which most nutrients are extracted) comprises 56% of total gut volume, while the large intestine comprises about 20%—these proportions are reversed in apes.

Meat eating, and the concomitant reduction in size of the energy-consuming gut, is believed to have played an essential role in the increase of brain size in the hominin lineage. Because the brain and gut compete for energy, the former was able to increase in size when the latter became smaller.

[Innovative]

No.

Stupid propaganda.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

1) Everything in moderation.
2) The less processed and hormoned the meat the better.

[Innovative]

Naturally, I only read the title.

No, we should not lower our intake of red meat.

[mlo]

Not everything in moderation. Some things should be avoided.

[leaning conservative]

“Naturally only read the title”

A beloved FR tradition ; )

[North Coast Conservative]

Framingham heart study does away with the preconceived notions that high fat, meat rich diets are bad for you.

Its whats for dinner

[North Coast Conservative]

Framingham heart study does away with the preconceived notions that high fat, meat rich diets are bad for you.

Its whats for dinner

[oldasrocks]

Yes, everyone else should stop eating meat so there is more for me.

[bigbob]

Yeah, like quinoa, Funyuns, and oat milk. No one ever milked an oat.

[Veto!]

I really don’t want to get into this discussion, but I have to add that when I gave up wheat and added more red meat, my LDL went down 40 points in 60 days. And I had a ton more energy and lost weight without feeling even slightly deprived.

Wheat and sugar are not good for you. ALL of the cereals on grocery shelves are extremely bad for you and your children. Have eggs for breakfast.

[FtrPilot]

....minimize the intake of red meat for health and environmental reasons.

Environmental reasons? So, eating red meat causes global warming.

A load of hogwash.

[leaning conservative]

Ha, had a delicious Reuben in town today!

[minnesota_bound]

I had 5 meatballs last night. Made from hambuger, pork, italian sausage. 1/3rd apiece. Is that cutting back?

[grey_whiskers]

Who paid for the report?

Some dot somewhere, most likely.

[reed13k]

Better half is out traveling starting last week and through end of the month. Have had a single steak (strip or ribeye) and 1 egg every day for a week as an experiment.

I’ve cheated a bit with some veggies and mandarin oranges a couple times and a bit of rye whiskey.

Same routine otherwise. I’ve lost 10 lbs. in a week and a 1/2, I have less feelings of hunger, am sleeping better, and have a bit more energy.

I’m going to keep it going till she gets home and see what happens.