The Truth About Food: Meat (Source: BBC iPlayer)

The World Health Organisation says that some types of meat can cause cancer. Currently 98% of the UK population eat meat, consuming up to 54kg a year. More processed meat is being favoured as wells as ribs and chicken.


Benefits of Eating Meat

• Processed meat means it as had something added, whether this is in the form of flavouring, salt, sugar or preservatives. In other words it is meat that has been modified in some way.
• Processed meat contains the same nutrients as fresh.  
• From 800 studies by W.H.O. 16,000 people die in the UK every year due to bowel cancer.
• Today, we eat over 30% more meat than in the 1930s.

Steak
protein = 7 and a half eggs
zinc
solenium
potassium
vitamin D
iron


Bacon

In terms of damage to health, two rashers of bacon are equal to smoking 4 cigarettes. However, less than 3% of all cancers are caused in relation to meat being eaten and over 25% are related to smoking cigarettes.

sodium nitrite added - this helps to preserve the meat and prevent harmful bacteria from forming, but is also one of the main ingredients responsible for health warnings on meat. 

Nitrites increase the risk of cancer developing. This is caused by the chemical reacting with stomach acid as it is digested - the compounds resulting can cause cancer. Bowl cancer is likely to develop if over 18 percent of the recommended amount of processed meat is eaten every day.
The number of nitrites is halved when a special formula is added to processed meat. This formula is currently still being developed and is in testing.

Red meat may be cancer-causing.




How to Cook 

• Processed meat means it as had something added, whether this is in the form of flavouring, salt, sugar or preservatives. In other words it is meat that has been modified in some way.
• Processed meat contains the same nutrients as fresh.  
• From 800 studies by W.H.O. 16,000 people die in the UK every year due to bowel cancer.
• Today, we eat over 30% more meat than in the 1930s.

PAH chemical formed in smoke.
High temperatures and fat dripping onto embers produces more smoke.

• Safest = gas BBQ
• control temperature
• marinade
• cook thoroughly

The UK government recommend that no more than 70g of any meat is eaten daily, to obtain it's maximum nutritional benefits and minimal health risks (also relating to bowl cancer). In the UK, 1 in 4 men eat 90g a day, whilst 1 in 10 women over-indulge.

Eating too much meat is related to heart disease because of saturated fat. 

Meat reaches the gut ans produces TMAO (contributed to hardening of arteries) by bacteria in the gut only found in meat-eaters. A move away from red meat has happened recently in the UK, with a 60% drop in lamb and 25% in beef in the past 50 years. 335% more chicken is eaten now,. Thi is most likely because chicken was made cheaper in the 1940s when battery farming was introduced. 3 and a half million chickens are now consumed daily in the UK.

A 12 week study found that halving the amount of red meat eaten reduced the amount of saturated fat dramatically, with bad cholesterol levels in blood dropping by 10%.