The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Eating Meat

Meat is defined as the muscle tissue, organs and flesh of an animal. The average American has a serving of meat, veggies and sometimes a starch on his/her plate everyday to complete a dish which is considered to be a full meal. And the National Food and Drug Administration’s Food Pyramid says the three are complete---meaning it’s a full meal. But is meat the cause of the many illnesses that swarm American? Is meat good for you or is it bad for you? Well, these questions will be answered for you in this article and you would need to make the correct determination for yourself and your family.

As a journalist and experimenter I must say that I have gone on an appropriate journey in order to find the answers to both questions and my determination would be, to find an alternative, however, I will also say “Different Strokes For Different Folks.” In this 1 year journey of eating meat, I must say that the results were horrifying. Here is the scenario: I went from eating just fish and chicken to eating full blown meats like steak, ribs, hotdogs, burgers, and any other meat source that you can think of. Some of the symptoms entail heavy breathing, stomach aches, weight gain, a build up of mucus membranes, tiredness, slow thinking etc. etc. And, I am very fortunate to have only made this an experiment simply due to the other health risk extremities that come with unhealthy eating. My symptoms could have been a lot worst but lucky for me, I am here today to give proven evidence that if you should consume meat, please consume it in moderation or it could be lethal.

Studies

There was a recent study done by a Harvard University Analysis which gave a list of diseases that come with eating to much meat. The first study was based on the amount of meat one should consume in one day. 42 grams per day of meat would be considered fine for the averaged person if they are eating good meat and not processed meat. You should also be careful about the drugs that the animals are injected with. Now, in this study, it indicates that if one is to consume 100 grams of meat per day they have a 12% chance of getting diabetes and those who eat processed meat have a 17% chance of getting diabetes and that would be based on their consumption of only 50grams of the processed meat a day. In another study done by the National Cancer Society---those who consume 40 ounces of meat per day have a 30% chance of being infected with cancer, and those who eat processed meat are at an even high risk. The International Journal of obesity found that people who eat meat consume up to 700 more calories a day than those who don’t. This article isn’t to frighten anyone, but it is clearly to help you understand the importance of your health, and the risk that we all take everyday by way of our food intake.

Here is a list of advantages and disadvantages of eating meat and why you should take precaution when eating anything that would be considered a health risk into you body.

Advantages

1. Provides Vitamin B1, 2, 6, and 12, Vitamin K, E, D and Folate
Example: A 100g portion of sirloin steak contains 6.93 mg of niacin, 0.514 mg of pantothenic acid, 0.126 mg of riboflavin, 1.53 micrograms of vitamin B-12, 0.126 mg of thiamin, 0.545 mg of vitamin B-6, and 8 micrograms of folate.

2. Provides Protein
Example: chuck beef, braised (6 ounces) contains 49.2 grams of protein and 1 gram of protein equals 4 calories

3. Provides Minerals Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium, Zinc, Selenium, Copper, Iron, Manganese and Phosphorus
Example: An 8 ounces serving of sirloin steak has 12mg of zinc, 75mcg of selenium , and 525mg of phosphorus.

4. Contains amino acids that the body needs
Example: The human body only contains 10 amino acids which are aspartic acid, alanine, asparagine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, cysteine, tyrosine and serine. The amino acids that our bodies don’t produce are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, histidine, phenylalanine, methionine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine, these essential amino acids are found in meat.

Disadvantages

1. The Health Risk
2. Cardiovascular Disease
3. Diabetes
4. High In Sodium
5. High In Saturated Fat And Cholesterol
6. To Much Processed Meat Causes Bowel Cancer
7. Very Hard To Digest Due To The Drugs Injected Into The Animals
8. Mad Cow Diseases
9. Alzheimer’s Disease
10. Causes Constipation
11. One Of Leading Cause Of Obesity
12. Causes Lethargy
Etc. Etc.

With all that has been presented before you, it could be hard to decide what is needed to have a healthy and balanced diet. However, studies make it plan and simple----why put something in your body that would put your health at risk, whether it has something that you need in it or not---there are alternatives. In a study done by the medical experts of Mayoclinic.com it was proven that those who eat less meat live longer. Which one do you choose life by consumption of the right foods or death by consumption of the wrong foods.