Hello Radical Health Seekers,
We believe beef is one of the best foods you can eat to support your health journey.
Not only is it incredibly nutritious, but it’s accessible, affordable and delicious too.
Yet understandably, you might have concerns about eating more beef, because for decades now, we’ve been told by health authorities that it can lead to heart attacks, strokes, cancers, and other chronic diseases.
Today, we’re going to debunk the 4 biggest myths about beef that have led to these misguided health concerns and show you the science that is rarely talked about by doctors or the mainstream media.
That way, you can enjoy your beef everyday, happy in the knowledge it’s supporting your health, not harming it.
Let’s dive in:
Myth #1 – Beef & Heart Disease
We all have an ‘Uncle Joe’ or ‘Aunt Marge’ who had a stroke or heart attack…
And we bet most of your family believed it was because of all the saturated fat in the steaks they were eating…
Mainstream authorities like the American Heart Association and the USDA STILL recommend limiting beef intake because of its saturated fat content…
Even though we now have many studies confirming that saturated fat is NOT associated with heart disease and other chronic diseases (1, 2, 3, 4).
This 2020 study concluded that unprocessed red meat is not associated with heart disease:
“There is no robust evidence that current population-wide arbitrary upper limits on saturated fat consumption in the United States will prevent CVD or reduce mortality.”
Myth #2 – Beef & Cancer
For decades, mainstream nutritional wisdom has linked beef consumption (and red meat in general) with cancer, but this advice emerged from epidemiological studies showing correlation, not causation.
The studies also frequently fail to correct for unhealthy user bias (e.g. those that eat red meat also might eat processed foods and drink alcohol).
Plus, we now have newer, higher-quality review studies that indicate otherwise, like this study from 2019:
It’s one of the most comprehensive to date, which looked at data from 48 studies with over 5.7 million participants…
And concluded that the recommendations to limit red meat intake based on cancer concerns were bogus (you can read what they say here).
And there’s this 2019 study Which concludes:
“The possible absolute effects of red and processed meat consumption on cancer mortality and incidence are very small, and the certainty of evidence is low to very low”
Myth #3 – Vegetarians Live Longer
This is another example of “if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it”…
But it’s a belief based on more bogus science, with more weak correlations that fail to correct for healthy user bias.
For example, many of the studies showing positive correlations between vegetarians and lifespan fail to correct for the fact that health-conscious vegetarians often avoid alcohol and ultra-processed foods too…
So which factor is responsible for their long life? The lack of meat or the lack of junk food?
And we now have evidence to indicate the opposite, like this recent study:
Here, the authors conclude that the more meat people eat, the longer they live!
And then there’s the fact that Hong Kong has the highest meat consumption per capita AND highest life expectancy per capita combined (yes it’s true, Google it)…
It may be a correlation, but it sure flies in the face of the belief that you must eat less ground beef if you want to live a long life.
Myth #4 – Beef & Climate Change
Of all the arguments floated against eating beef, the climate change argument is certainly having its moment…
And we’re now supposed to believe that to be a responsible citizen, we should skip the beef and eat beans or Beyond Burgers instead.
But there are SO many issues with this.
Firstly, beef is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet.
So any decision to swap real beef with fake beef must consider the negative impacts on human health.
This study did just that.
It examined eliminating all animal foods from the American diet and found that emissions would only be reduced by 2.6%…
Yet found that nutrient deficiencies would increase, and total calories would increase.
This isn’t desirable when most people are already overweight or obese and simultaneously suffering from nutrient deficiencies!
And then consider the fact that there have always been methane-burping ruminants in North America…
(as many as 60 million bison in the 1800s)
And that according to our own EPA, beef production is only responsible for 1.9% of total emissions in 2016:
Or what about the fact that when properly raised (in a regenerative fashion), cattle can be a net positive…
Because they help put carbon back into the soil, and regenerate land previously degraded from monocrop agriculture.
Now we aren’t saying beef production has no environmental impact…
But circling back to the issue of biased research, and money talking…
You’ll have to forgive us if we approach the subject with skepticism.
And you don’t need to agree with our defense of beef…
But we hope we’ve encouraged you to ask some questions…
And that the information we’ve provided you with today helps you on your journey to radical health 🙌
This Week On Instagram:
This week on Radical Health Radio:
he Healing Benefits of Bone Broth ft. Alysa Seeland FOND Founder | Ep. 82
This week in customer reviews: Animal-Based Protein
That’s all from us this week,
Keep thriving!
The Heart & Soil Team
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