Goodbye to Baloney

[GregLee]

Most Authoritative Report On Colorectal Cancer And Diet Ever Conducted: Links With Meat, Fiber Confirmed

For red and processed meat, findings from 10 new cohort studies were added to the 14 included in the 2007 Report. The CUP Expert Panel concluded that there is convincing evidence that both red and processed meat increase colorectal cancer risk.

AICR recommends that people limit consumption to 18 ounces (cooked weight) of red meat a week - roughly the equivalent of five or six small portions of beef, lamb or pork - and avoid processed meat.

 

[REWahoo]

I'd rather be dead than give up red meat. Looks like I can have it both ways.

 

[Bimmerbill]

But coffee reduces it, right? So if I drink lots of coffee I can eat lots of meat!

 

[ziggy29]

It's still my belief that the health dangers of stressing and obsessing about every last morsel you put into your body is probably more damaging, on average, than indulging on anything "edible" can do to you when consumed in moderation. Might I be wrong? Sure. But I doubt any medical study on nutrition (many of which contradict each other) will convince me to completely abstain from anything I enjoy.

 

[Webzter]

But I doubt any medical study on nutrition (many of which contradict each other) will convince me to completely abstain from anything I enjoy.

Note, this study recommends limiting consumption versus abstaining. If you normally have a couple 1/4 lb burgers and an 8 oz lean cut of beef a few times a week, you're well within the parameters... on the other extreme, if you're eating a 1/2 of meat daily then you might be facing different issues.

Time for me to brew some high-fiber beer and call it good.

eta: We're only a summer sausage away from being able to merge this with the "world-class colonoscopy" thread and being able to claim that red meat prevents colorectal cancer.

 

[ziggy29]

Note, this study recommends limiting consumption versus abstaining.

The quote in the OP said "...and avoid processed meat." Now I don't each much processed meat as it is, but this definitely sounds like encouraging "abstinence" to me.

eta: We're only a summer sausage away from being able to merge this with the "world-class colonoscopy" thread and being able to claim that red meat prevents colorectal cancer.

And from that we can connect to bacon -- so the "bacon number" of any food will be less than six, and I don't mean Kevin Bacon.

 

[Webzter]

The quote in the OP said "...and avoid processed meat." Now I don't each much processed meat as it is, but this definitely sounds like encouraging "abstinence" to me.

wait, but you said enjoy... you like baloney? You know what's in that stuff?

oh, and I need to read over that to see where bacon falls on the study. I mean, if a healthy non-red meat like pork is considered unhealthy once it's cured, fried, and served next to a high-protein food source like eggs then I'm out... no use preaching quackery like that.

 

[ziggy29]

wait, but you said enjoy... you like baloney? You know what's in that stuff?

Heh. Fair point, but I was speaking more in generalities than about any specific "food". And yes, I put "food" in quotes for a reason.

 

[73ss454]

I went to Ruby Tuesdays the other day with DW. I wanted a hamburger so I ordered the SmokeHouse Burger that comes with Bacon and Cheese. When it arrived I took the first bite and it just didn't taste good as it had a Wheat Bun and it ruined the taste. I asked the waiter for another bun which took over 15 minutes to get. By that time I was about done. Asking the waiter what took so long he sent over the manager. The manager said she was sorry that it took so long and asked how the burger was. I told her about the Bun and she said they switched to Wheat because it was healthier.

What? Let me get the straight, I order a Bacon Cheese Burger with Fries and you want me to be healthy so you give me a Wheat Bun. I couldn't stop laughing. The manager just looked at me and said she'd take the burger off the bill. I guess you had to be there.

 

[REWahoo]

What? Let me get the straight, I order a Bacon Cheese Burger with Fries and you want me to be healthy so you give me a Wheat Bun.

Yep, really stupid - especially when you could achieve the same 'healthy' meal by getting a real bacon cheese burger - and a diet Coke.

 

[73ss454]

Yep, really stupid - especially when you could achieve the same 'healthy' meal by getting a real bacon cheese burger - and a diet Coke.

Nope, I heard there are real bad things in Diet Coke.

 

[W2R]

AICR recommends that people limit consumption to 18 ounces (cooked weight) of red meat a week - roughly the equivalent of five or six small portions of beef, lamb or pork - and avoid processed meat.

That's a LOT of red meat! I try to get some in for variety a few times a week, but a pound and a half is more than I am used to eating. And I am a great proponent of beef too.

I think the take-away from this article is not to avoid beef, but just don't supersize your portions. This would be good advice for ANY kind of food, IMO.

We often go to a particular hamburger place for lunch because they have great chicken Caesar salads as well. The last time I was there, I felt tired of salads and ordered their "Big Easy Burger" instead. It probably had 6 ounces of hamburger meat in it - - it was so heavy!! That is a lot of beef and I felt weighed down afterwards (but it sure got rid of any hamburger cravings I might have had).

 

[LARS]

That's a LOT of red meat! I try to get some in for variety a few times a week, but a pound and a half is more than I am used to eating. And I am a great proponent of beef too.

Not to be picky, but one pound of meat equals 16 oz. So 18 oz is approx. 1.1 pounds of meat...

 

[W2R]

Not to be picky, but one pound of meat equals 16 oz. So 18 oz is approx. 1.1 pounds of meat...

Good point! Where's that coffee... But anyway, if you ate 1.5 pounds that article would claim that was too much beef.

You could have a quarter pounder with cheese on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and share your quarter pounder with a friend on Friday, and STILL be within their guidelines. (burp!) How boring life would be with that much beef and so little chicken, fish, shrimp, and so on.

 

[Meadbh]

18 oz of red meat per week is not a lot. Went for dinner at The Keg Steakhouse & Bar | Home Page last night. One of my friends had a 12 oz peppercorn steak. I had an 8 oz sirloin steak Oscar. Mmmm!

 

[LARS]

Good point! Where's that coffee...

At least it was only a miscalculation for meat. Imagine if we were talking about GOLD! Those ounces would really add up...

 

[W2R]

18 oz of red meat per week is not a lot. Went for dinner at The Keg Steakhouse & Bar | Home Page last night. One of my friends had a 12 oz peppercorn steak. I had an 8 oz sirloin steak Oscar. Mmmm!

Meadbh, an 8 oz steak is BIG! Did you eat the whole thing? Even with today's large portions sizes, most restaurants I go to offer a 6 oz sirloin (or else I take some home). There's an art to eating out.

 

[Webzter]

One of my friends had a 12 oz peppercorn steak. I had an 8 oz sirloin steak Oscar. Mmmm!

Recommended protein serving everywhere I've read is around 4oz... so, 8 would be perfect to take half home for breakfast!

Comes back to moderation though... 8oz isn't going to kill you. Heck, 8oz a day probably won't (although I do hear you're at increased risk for colorectal cancer).

 

[Meadbh]

Yes, I ate the whole thing, including the shrimps and scallops on top! But I probably won't eat red meat for at least the next three or four days. And yes, there is a family history of colorectal cancer. But you gotta live!

 

[W2R]

That's a LOT of red meat! I try to get some in for variety a few times a week, but a pound and a half is more than I am used to eating. And I am a great proponent of beef too.

At least it was only a miscalculation for meat.

Well, to be fair to myself I should point out that it wasn't actually a miscalculation at all - - a pound and a half IS more than 18 ounces, and 18 ounces is certainly allowed. So, although a pound and a half isn't allowed it wouldn't really matter if one ate 18 ounces or not. I just didn't make my meaning clear so I probably should go ahead and have that forbidden second cup of coffee.

 

[East Texas]

What was that book we had to read in high school English class... I think it took place in the Great Depression and people fell in vats of meat.....?

 

[W2R]

Yes, I ate the whole thing, including the shrimps and scallops on top! But I probably won't eat red meat for at least the next three or four days. And yes, there is a family history of colorectal cancer. But you gotta live!

So true. You gotta live and if you only eat 8 oz in 3-4 days, that would only be 16 oz in a week.

I wish fish was more popular here. In Hawaii, I ate a LOT of fish and loved, loved, loved it. People eat fish here too, but shrimp is more popular (and higher in cholesterol). I admit that I eat lots of shrimp anyway.

 

[haha]

I think before we get to worried about exactly how much we are allowed to eat, we might find this article and see how reliable it appears to be.

On the face of it, even if you accept that the findings are real and not manufactured, the effect regarding red meat at least is not that great. Also, in todays world someone who eats red meat says many thing about himself, his attitudes, his other habits, etc.

Ha

 

[Bestwifeever]

We used to have fried baloney (bologna on the Oscar Mayer package) sandwiches on white bread with yellow mustard growing up. A lot of them. You had to cut into the edges of the bologna if you didn't want the middle to pop up into a hat shape during the frying.

 

[Mulligan]

I'm tired of researchers threatening me with various forms of cancer and heart attacks on all the foods I eat most of the time. Why can't they switch it up occasionally and give a cancer scare to the fruit, vegetable, salad, and tofu crowd to balance it out a bit?