What Firefighters Need to Know about Red Meat

 

Firefighters love red meat. Meat provides protein, the building block of muscles; it fills us up when we are hungry; and it tastes good. However, before grilling up another batch of burgers, all firefighters should know that red meat may increase their risk of developing cancer, the number two killer in the United States. In fact, according to the 2009 Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention Report (a study released by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund), one-third of the most common cancers in the U.S. could be prevented with diet and lifestyle changes.¹ Eating less red meat overall and avoiding all processed meats (smoked, cured, or preserved with chemicals like sodium nitrite) are two of the primary dietary changes recommended in this report. Like it or not, most scientific evidence suggests that red meat increases the risk of developing cancer, through the quantity we eat and/or the way it is prepared and preserved.      

 

 

Lifestyle and diet choices contribute to an overwhelming number of cancer cases in the United States each year. In fact, an estimated 25 to 30 percent of cancer cases are from tobacco use and 30 to 35 percent of cases are linked to diet.^2,3 These surprising numbers should prompt all firefighters to think about ways to live a healthier lifestyle, and modifying dietary choices to reduce red meat intake is a great place to start.

 

Why begin with reducing red meat in your diet? The preponderance of evidence points to red meat as a key contributor to cancer incidence in the United States. In 2005, a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association concluded that the consumption of red meat and processed meat may increase the risk of colon cancer, the third most common cancer affecting men and women in the United States.^4,5 Researchers in this study used the word “may” in their conclusion because not everyone develops colon cancer if they eat a diet rich in red and processed meats (similarly, not everyone who smokes develops lung cancer). Nevertheless, they found that people who ate the most red meat were 30 to 40 percent more likely to develop cancer in the lower part of the colon than those who ate red meat less frequently. In addition, those who frequently ate processed meats had a 20 percent higher chance of developing rectal cancer than those who did not.

 

Other studies have linked red and processed meat intake with an increased incidence of lung and pancreatic cancer (the second and fourth most common cancers) in men and women.^6,7,8 In all of these studies, processed meats included bacon, sausage, luncheon meats, ham, and hot dogs. Red meat included beef, pork, and lamb.  

 

Why does red meat increase your risk of developing cancer? No one knows definitively, but several carcinogens in meat have been identified, including heterocyclic amines (HCAs) (formed during high-temperature cooking), iron, and nitrites (additives in processed meats that preserve flavor and color). Cooking meats at high temperatures in the absence of moisture (grilling, pan-frying, or broiling) produces HCAs. These chemicals can alter the structure of cellular DNA and turn healthy cells into cancer cells. The more brown, crispy, or charred meat becomes during cooking, the more HCAs are formed. Nitrites added to processed meats (as well as nitrites found in water and other foods) interact with iron naturally found in meat to form carcinogenic compounds called N-nitroso compounds. Indeed, avoiding all nitrite-preserved meats (bologna, ham, bacon, and other processed meats) and meats grilled or broiled at high temperatures may significantly reduce your risk of developing some types of cancer.

 

How much red meat is safe? No one knows for sure. The American Cancer Society estimates that men who eat more than 3 ounces of red meat a day (equivalent to the amount of meat in a large fast-food hamburger) or more than one ounce of processed meat (equivalent to one slice of bologna) 5 to 6 days a week may be putting themselves at risk for colon cancer. Women who eat more than 2 ounces of red meat a day or more than one ounce of processed meat 2 to 3 days a week may similarly be at risk. The National Cancer Institute recommends eating less than the equivalent of a quarter-pound hamburger or three thin slices of processed meat per day.⁹ A study published in the journal Carcinogenesis found an increased risk of colorectal cancer in people who ate three or more servings of red meat per week.¹⁰ In other words, although no specific recommendations for red meat intake have been established, researchers do agree that the less red meat we eat, the better.

 

Can you get enough protein to build muscle if you are cutting down on your intake of red meat? Yes, you absolutely can. This fact becomes obvious when you consider the amount of protein actually needed for muscle building as well as the large variety of foods that provide protein in the diet. A recent position paper developed by the American Dietetics Association, the Canadian Dietetics Association, and the American College of Sports Medicine (March 2009) states that protein needs for athletes can range from 0.5 to 0.8 grams per pound ideal body weight per day. Therefore, an athletic 170-pound man could meet his protein needs with anywhere from 92 to 136 grams per day. That may sound like a lot of protein, but it is actually pretty easy to get that much in a day by eating a variety of healthy foods.

 

Vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, dairy products, meat, fish, and poultry all contain protein (fats and sugars are the only foods that don’t). Some foods, like meat, fish, poultry, dairy eggs, and soybeans, contain all of the essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) needed for building and maintaining muscle mass. Others, like vegetables, beans, grains, and nuts, contain most of them. It is not necessary, however, to consume all of these essential amino acids at the same time. Our bodies store amino acids for a few days and can draw from this store as needed. Thus, you can get all the essential amino acids you need from a mixture of foods throughout the day. In other words, a diet that contains a variety of foods (including grains, beans, nuts, and vegetables) can provide all the protein your body needs.

 

 

3 ounces of poultry, fish or meat (size of a deck of cards): 21 grams protein 1 egg: 6 grams protein 8 ounces milk: 9 grams protein 2 tablespoons peanut butter: 8 grams protein     1 cup cooked oatmeal: 6 grams protein 1 cup cooked broccoli: 4 grams protein 1 cup cooked corn: 5 grams protein 1 cup cooked brown rice: 5 grams protein (4 grams in white rice) 1 cup cooked pasta: 7 grams protein   For additional nutrition information about foods, check out: www.calorieking.com www.nutritiondata.com

How do you put this information into practice and follow a diet that keeps you healthy and strong? First, estimate your daily protein needs using the calculation cited above (0.5 to 0.8 grams protein per pound ideal body weight). Next, become familiar with the protein content in a variety of foods, especially those foods that come from plants. The protein content of some typical foods is listed in the sidebar along with a few helpful Web sites that provide protein information for a large variety of foods. If you take a day and calculate how much protein you normally consume, you will likely find that large amounts of red meat are not necessary. Finally, plan out a few meals and snacks to try during the week, sans red meat! A great resource for inspiration and meat-free recipes is The Engine 2 Diet, by Rip Esselstyn, a firefighter and former professional tri-athlete based in Austin, Texas. In 2003, when one of the firefighters on Esselstyn’s crew found out his total cholesterol was 335 mg/dL (a healthy level is less than 200 mg/dL), Esselstyn convinced his entire crew to follow a meat-free diet. In three weeks, the firefighter with the elevated cholesterol lowered his lipids by more than 100 points, to 194 mg/dL, proving that food can be powerful medicine.

 

If you choose to eat red meat, consider a few healthier ways to prepare it. Marinating meat before you grill, broil, or pan-fry it will reduce the number of cancer-causing HCAs that form. Alternatively, consider stewing or braising red meat (moist-cooking methods do not produce HCAs) and leaving the grill for chicken and fish. Eliminating processed red meats like bologna, sausage, and pepperoni and replacing them with roasted turkey or tuna will also reduce your cancer risk.              

 

Considering all this information linking diet and disease, what’s the bottom line? Red meat in large amounts hurts us rather than helps us. Be aware that excessive red meat intakes may not seem that excessive to us, especially if our family, work, and ethnic/national culture condone and celebrate eating lots of meat. However, research indicates that consuming that much meat jeopardizes our health and increases our risk for the number one and two killers in the United States: heart disease and cancer. Many of us love a good steak, a juicy hamburger, or a hearty ham sandwich, but are the potential health consequences worth indulging in these foods more than every once in awhile?

 

 

1. Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention. The World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Prevention. Available at: http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/Accessed October 19, 2009.

2. Anand P, Kunnumakkara A, Sundaram C, et al. Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes. Parm Res. 2008;25(9):2097-115.

3. Donaldson MS.  Nutrition and cancer: a review of the evidence for an anti-cancer diet. Nutr J. 2004;3:19.

4. JAMA, 2005 American Cancer Society. Eating Lots of Red Meat Linked to Colon Cancer. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Eating_Lots_of_Red_Meat_Linked to Colon_Cancer.asp. Accessed September 11^th, 2009.

5. Data Evaluation & Publication Committee for the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. Available at: http://www.naaccr.org/index.asp?Col_SectionKey=11&Col_ContentID=48. Accessed September 29, 2009.

6. Tasevska N, Sinha R, Kipnis VC, Subar AF, Leitzmann MF, et al. A prospective study of meat, cooking methods, meat mutagens, heme iron and lung cancer risks. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89:1884-94.

7. Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Cross AJ, Silverman DT, Schairer C, Thompson FE, et al. Meat and meat-mutagen in take and pancreatic cancer risk in the NIH-AARP cohort.   Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(12):2664-75.

8. Sinha R, Cross AJ, Graubard BL, Leitzmann MF, Schatzkin A. Meat Intake and Mortality. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(6):562-571.

9. U.S. News. High Meat Consumption Linked to Heightened Cancer Risk. Available at: http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/071211/high-meat-consumption-linked-to-heightened-cancer-risk. Accessed September 11^th, 2009.

10. Joshi AD, Corral R, Siegmund KD, et al. Red meat and poultry intake, polymorphisms in the nucleotide excision repair and mismatch repair pathways and colorectal cancer risk. Carcinogenesis. 2009;30(3):472-9.

 

 

 

Rita Carey, MS, RD, CDE, is a registered dietician and certified diabetes educator with more than 20 years of experience in public health and clinical nutrition. She has written extensively for Today’s Dietician and Diabetes Self-Management on health and diabetes management.