Too much protein - bad? page

[thaijinx]

Is there any science behind the idea of too much protein (meat especially) being bad for us.

I'm seeing reports here that higher meat consumption is linked to cancer, especially colon cancer. (Though I tend to think cancer is linked to sugar consumption.)

Still, I guess meat is contaminated with all growth hormones and antibiotics and crap they feed the animals? COULD this cause can

I'm not buying it hook line and sinker, but just wondered why these ideas persist, and if there's any science behind the claims at all?

[eKatherine]

I found this a while back.

[MEversbergII]

A buddy of mine (who is otherwise rather intellectual) quotes that idea pretty often. He had a Navy mate of his die from colon cancer in his 20's, and subsequently was a seafood-only person in his meat consumption. He doesn't do that anymore, though he keeps his meat consumption in check.

He also cites some Scottish study about the areas of highest meat consumption also having the highest heart disease rate, but his details are scarce and I haven't looked into it.

M.

[noodletoy]

search the wilds of the internet and you can find studies supporting any argument you can conjure.

we evolved eating an omnivorous diet, but whoppers and pepperoni stuffed hot pockets shouldn't be part of what we eat now.

consuming well-raised meat and wild seafood has improved my health so dramatically over a grain-based diet there is no doubt in my mind it's better for me.

some studies suggest that eating over 50% of your cals as protein may cause some issues, but that's pretty hard to do.

[Daniel_UK]

Robb Wolf talked about this in one of his podcasts. The researchers in these studies were very lenient with their definition of a portion of meat - under their rules, a slice of pepperoni pizza and a chicken breast were equivalent.

No wonder they "discovered" that meat causes cancer. Just ludicrous.

[raulflys]

yeah,we evolved eating an omnivorous diet, but whoppers and pepperoni stuffed hot pockets shouldn't be part of what we eat

[noodletoy]

Robb Wolf talked about this in one of his podcasts. The researchers in these studies were very lenient with their definition of a portion of meat - under their rules, a slice of pepperoni pizza and a chicken breast were equivalent.

No wonder they "discovered" that meat causes cancer. Just ludicrous.

i believe many of the men in that recent study also drank more than moderately and smoked. soooooooooooooo, yeah.

[jfreaksho]

i believe many of the men in that recent study also drank more than moderately and smoked. soooooooooooooo, yeah.

Some of the many confounding factors- people who eat less meat usually do so because they are conscious about their health, which means they are more likely to exercise appropriately and less likely to drink in excess or smoke. There are way too many confounding factors in observational studies about food. Some studies can influence public perception of a food, leading to shifts in the populations that eat that food, influencing other studies that are going on.

Eat food.

[AMonkey]

i believe many of the men in that recent study also drank more than moderately and smoked. soooooooooooooo, yeah.

Any basic health studies will try and account for variables like smoking and alcohol consumption.

[Neckhammer]

Any basic health studies will try and account for variables like smoking and alcohol consumption.

Oh, they will try.