John Naish, writing in today's Times newspaper about 'the new science of anti- ageing' produced some interesting information :
When you eat red meat a chemical named TMAO is produced in relatively high levels. People with high levels of TMAO have a risk of heart attack or stroke that is more than double the average, even if they exercise and do not smoke.
New research published in the American Heart Association Journal showed that raised levels of TMA in adults blood causes accelerated age related tissue damage in the lining of blood vessels, which in turn causes increasing damage to arteries and hearts.
Previous studies showed that those who ate a western diet high in red meat, processed food, fried food, sweet food, refined grains and high fat dairy products were less likely to experience a healthy ageing process 16 years later.
However eating a diet containing some olive oils, vinegar and red wine as part of plant based diet may possibly be the best bet for keeping this process at bay.
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Ianc2
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One of the main issues with studies like this is when they have lines like this:
"Previous studies showed that those who ate a western diet high in red meat, processed food, fried food, sweet food, refined grains and high fat dairy products were less likely to experience a healthy ageing process 16 years later."
Lumping the eating of red meat in with the eating of fried foods, processed foods and refined grains will always show a negative outcome, it muddies the water, so to speak.
That sentence made me laugh too. That's a pretty eclectic list, isn't it?
They're basically saying that people who subsist on McDonalds, pizza, ice-cream and hot dogs are in poor shape because of the red meat and dairy content. This makes about as much sense as suggesting that maybe smokers get lung cancer because cigarette boxes have pictures of lung cancer on the front.
"We've decided red meat is bad for you. Let's go out and find people who eat red meat (as well as a whole bunch of other things) and see if they're ill. Then we can conclude that red meat is bad for you".
Otherwise known as confirmation bias, and/or cherry-picking. What baffles me is that sort of thing is so clearly flawed that you'd think someone, somewhere would take them to task on it, but the journals seem to just publish it uncritically.
I can't remeber exactly 'Where' but, a Professor recently DID just this. He 'Took Apart' the, so called, Eveidence piece by piece.
The same 'Evidence', strongly Suggests, two other Conclusions. One is that 'living can, and will, Kill you' and secondly that 'Eating, Drinking, Breathing and 'Existing' is Fatal'. These are Provable Facts with, very clearly 'Reproducable' results. So bewarned everyone..... you ARE going to die!
Taking a, slightly more, sensible approach.... maybe don't 'overeat' red meat and, try to avoid, too many Highly Processed Products. However this, I think Well Measured Approach, is Far, Far to simple for the'Experts' to even consider.
So we are 'left' with Warnings on Cereal Packets that 'Too Much Sugar Is Bad For you', along with advice that 'Children Need A Diet With More Carbo-Hydrate Than Adults'.
I myself have Concluded, all on my own, that.... Be it Red Meat, Chicken, Fish or Game....It's a LOT Easier to eat them if They are Dead. So...There you have it- 'Andrew's Top Tip... Buy your food already dead- better still Butchered Down'.
In Conclusion....You could put a Pen, in one ear, a Pencil, in the other, hold a Saucer in your mouth, whilst juggling Grandma's favourite Crockery Set..... Well, if you Drop it, you ARE dead!
Indeed And personally I want to enjoy life while I'm alive.
Contradictory advice such as the example you mention drives me mad. Does nobody spot this?
If we believed half of what's published in the newspapers, we can apparently only eat moss and drink spring water if we want to stay alive. Yeah, but no thanks. I'd rather eat proper food and take my chances. It worked for the whole of human history and I can't imagine why it would suddenly stop working in Current Year.
I don't mean to sound apocalyptic but we're all going to die from one cause or another. (Sorry, I don't mean to be insensitive). Whether that be by phone radiation or petrol fumes our bodies are going to come to the end of their lives at some point.
Health and quality of life are important.
The better we eat and the better we look after ourselves, the better quality of life we have for a longer period of time (generally speaking).
I know we don't digest red meat very well, what implications that has on our health I'm not sure but it's very interesting.
We could all benefit from cutting down on red meat, and the meat industry sure could do with not supplying so much at the cost of the animals well being.
The way the meat industry works is actually pretty horrific. I'm not a fan of high levels of meat consumption.
The Vegan movement and academics who are vegan talk a lot about studies and the effects of meat on the body.
I think to come to a conclusion that none of us should eat any meat is a bit of an extreme one but I also think there's a lot of wisdom - for ours and the animal's health and welfare - to cut back.
You make a good point about us all dying eventually I find the "all cause mortality" term strange: if any study goes on for long enough, all cause mortality will be 100%. What we want to know is age and quality!
Hello Ianc2 I read the article and it does say TMAO levels were higher in middle aged people compared to those in their 20's. And that high levels of TMAO were linked to strokes and heart disease. Now this could be because of other poor eating choices as it is cumulative.
It also said that middle aged people who cut sugar and salt had less chance of dementia in their 80's.
And it says that women who drink one or two glasses of red wine daily suffered less from bone shrinking during and after the menopause.
Aged cheese soy and whole grains contain the compound spermidine which's is believed to prevent liver fibrosis.
The really interesting thing for me was that a recent poll showed that a third of us have eaten more and less healthily since lockdown which will hopefully trigger an interest in eating healthier.
So to me its about a balanced diet that works for us that isn't highly processed as that to me is the curse of many modern diets.
If our Paleolithic ancestors had not eaten red meat, none of us would be here now! We aren't geared to eat some of the processed meats and other things we eat today, so, to my mind at least a Paleo diet is pretty much as we should be eating,
A gut-microbial metabolite, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), has been associated with coronary atherosclerotic burden. No previous prospective study has addressed associations of long-term changes in TMAO with coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence.
Study was based over ten years, involving 760 people. Makes for an interesting read.
For an alternative point of view have a look at Dr Aaron Gardener's comments in mygenefood.com. As always there are many points of view.
The conundrum is why apparently fit people suddenly succumb to heart attack or stroke?
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And personally I want to enjoy life while I'm alive.
Is a little good for you?
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