Cancer Risk Upped As Much as 25% by Eating Red Meat Daily, Harvard Study Finds

Low carb dieters may want to take note of a new study out of Harvard that looks at the impact of red meat consumption and cancer risk, and findings that may be of some alarm to protein enthusiasts in general.

The study, published yesterday by the Archives of Internal Medicine, was accompanied by an editorial written by Dr. Dean Ornish- who happens to peddle a plant-based diet in his book Eat More, Weigh Less. Ornish has been persona non grata among keto-friendly dieters, but commenting on the study, he says that all meat isn’t bad- just that dieters should exercise moderation in planning their meat consumption, particularly in light of the study’s findings:

“It’s not all or nothing… To the degree you make red meat more of a treat or more of a condiment and substitute other things for it, you’re going to look better, feel better, lose weight and gain health.”

According to BusinessWeek, the study found that eating red meat daily could up cancer risk by as much as 21%- but the site cites hot dogs and bacon (which are, if I recall correctly, the “other white meat”) as risky foods as pegged by the study. Out of more than 100,000 people who supplied data for the study during its four-year course, more than 24,000 died- about 6,000 from heart disease and more than 9,000 from cancer.

In an emailed response, the American Meat Institute Foundation’s director of scientific affairs commented that “all of these studies struggle to disentangle other lifestyle and dietary habits from meat and processed meat and admit that they can’t do it well enough to use their conclusions to accurately recommend people change their dietary habits.” The spokeswoman said that a healthy diet is more of an important focus overall than elimination of a single food group.

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Tags: cancer, Harvard, Health, Keto, Red Meat, Studies

About the Author

Kim LaCapria Kim LaCapria is a writer and editor based in New York. A longtime information junkie, she began blogging full-time at the Inquisitr in 2009. Prior to that, she worked as a marketing assistant in the cosmetics and skincare industry. In addition to her writing for fortytwotimes, she also writes for Medacity and The Inquisitr. Kim is also a contributor for SocialNewsDaily, Indyposted, and TotallyMoney. In the past, she contributed to Lipstick and Luxury and managed social media accounts and blogs for several small and mid-sized businesses.