Red-Meat Free Meals - Anyone?

It's been five months and a year since I was banned from eating red meat, and this is not just for the duration of my disease. It's for life! There are days when I wanted to throw caution into the wind as they say, and just order a big "lechon" all to myself. But was I ever afraid? I guess I'll just dream of it. Not too often though I hope.

What really is a red meat?

Gastronomic

In gastronomy, red meat is darker-colored meat, as contrasted with white meat. The exact definition varies by time, place, and culture, but the meat from adult mammals such as cows, sheep, and horses is invariably considered red, while chicken and rabbit meat is invariably considered white. The meat of young mammals such as milk-fed veal calves, sheep, and pigs is traditionally considered white; while the meat of duck and goose is considered red. Game is sometimes put in a separate category altogether. (French: viandes noires — "black meats")

Nutritional

The old determinant of the nutritional definition of the color of meat is the concentration of myoglobin. The white meat of chicken has under 0.05%; pork and veal have 0.1–0.3%; young beef has 0.4–1.0%; and old beef has 1.5–2.0%.

According to the USDA all meats obtained from livestock (i.e., from mammals) are red meats because they contain more myoglobin than chicken or fish.

Red meat is not a uniform product; its health effects can vary based on fat content, processing and preparation. Processed red meat is strongly linked to higher mortality, mainly due to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. 

CANCER RISKS

Due to the many studies that have found a link between red meat intake and colorectal cancer, the American Institute for Cancer Research and World Cancer Research Fund stated that there is convincing evidence that red meat intake increases the risk for colorectal cancer.

Professor Sheila Bingham of the Dunn Human Nutrition Unit attributes this to the haemoglobin and myoglobin molecules which are found in red meat. She suggests these molecules, when ingested trigger a process called nitrosation in the gut which leads to the formation of carcinogens. Others have suggested that it is due to the presence of carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines, which are created in the cooking process. However, this may not be limited to red meat, since a study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that people who ate skinless chicken five times or more per week had a 52% higher risk of developing bladder cancer although not people who ate chicken with skin or other red meats such as hot dogs and Hamburgers.

A 2011 study of 17,000 individuals found that people consuming the most grilled and well-done meat had a 56 and 59% higher rate of cancer.

There is suggestive evidence that red meat intake increases the risk of oesophageal, lung, pancreatic and endometrial cancer. As a result, WCRF recommends limiting intake of red meat to less than 300g (11 oz) cooked weight per week, "very little, if any of which to be processed."

Some studies have linked consumption of large amounts of red meat with breast cancer, stomach cancer, lymphoma, bladder cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer (although other studies have found no relationship between red meat and prostate cancer.

A 2011 study of almost 500,000 participants found that those in the highest quintile of red meat consumption had a 19% increased risk of kidney cancer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_meat

Now this reminds me why I should restrict myself. 

Photo Credit to: http://www.123rf.com/photo_6265690_cows-grazing-in-a-green-pasture-on-sustainable-small-scale-farm.html