For well over a decade now, the mainstream message on meat has been clear. “Meat is bad for you.”
Anti-meat propaganda is everywhere you look.
Turn on the TV, open a magazine, or go online and you’ll spot it. Heck, you’ve probably even had to sit through a few lectures on the evils of meat in your OWN doctor’s office.
Dare to indulge, you’re told, and your cancer risk will skyrocket. Refuse to eat like a bunny, and you’ll “pay the price,” they insist ominously.
Well, not so fast.
Sure, certain meats ARE bad news. That’s why every chance I get, I warn folks to steer clear of any super-processed lunchmeat that’s loaded up with damaging sulfites, nitrates, nitrites, and more.
But a new study confirms what I’ve been telling you all along. And that is, other meats in moderation are perfectly healthy and aren’t likely to have any significant effects on your cancer risk.
Nitrites… NOT meat… are the REAL enemy
In their rush to slap warnings on everything, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency declared that ALL processed meats can cause cancer.
But the new study finds the REAL problem. And it’s not the meat.
It’s not even that the meat has been processed, exactly. After all, any store-bought meat is going to go through some of that to make it on the shelf.
Instead, it’s a step along the way that some food manufacturers take. And that is when they dump in sodium nitrite to act as a preservative and coloring agent.
And although Big Food does do it with the FDA’s blessings, even the FDA admits added sodium nitrites are concerning. They react with other nitrogen-containing compounds and can trigger cancer-causing nitrosamines.
In fact, foods with sodium nitrite can reportedly increase your cancer risk by nearly two-thirds. But the new research reveals that meats without the additive aren’t likely to increase that risk at all.
In other words, you can go ahead and eat your meat guilt-free.
Put meat BACK on the menu
Now the new study doesn’t mean you should start loading up on lunchmeats and other super processed meat. Some of those ARE the ones that contain these dangerous additives.
But DO feel free to indulge from time-to-time by choosing the healthier options you can already find on the shelf.
That means, for example, any deli-style and breakfast meats that are free of nitrites, nitrates, and other chemicals, including coloring agents and preservatives.
But remember, while additive-free processed meats can make a good “sometimes” snack, you should still opt for the less-processed, fresh, grass-fed, organic cuts most of the time.
Fresh, organic meats will help fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied longer, so you’re less likely to overeat. Plus, they contain plenty of heart and brain-boosting omega-3s and cancer-FIGHTING conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
And they’re a great source of healthy B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin E.
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