Red Meat and Your Health: Should You Cut Back?

Carving up the latest studies on red meat to reveal what we know — and what we don’t.

Should you eat less red meat? Why or why not?

The latest study on red meat and health concluded that the potential health benefits of reducing red meat are too small, and the strength of evidence too weak, to justify current dietary recommendations.

Health experts around the world are pushing back, calling these conclusions “reckless” and “irresponsible”. What’s going on?

Beneath the headlines, the summary study reads like a familiar story…until the last chapter. It turns out that the debate is as much about how we should approach dietary guidelines as about the underlying data.

What Type Of Studies Were Done?

The news headlines stem from a collection of five meta-analyses — studies that analyze existing data, in order to summarize overall trends [see lead research article by Johnston, BC et al]. The five studies were limited to human data, and included many large observational studies as well as one randomized controlled trial. Each study compared rates of disease and death from common conditions (cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes) in those who consumed more red meat…