(Newswire.net — October 4, 2019) — Researchers in Canada, Spain and Poland have cast a shadow over popular nutrition tips adopted by healthcare organizations around the world.
In a significant body of work, academics have analyzed past research into how meat consumption affects the health of more than four million people. Despite all common fears, they found no evidence that consuming beef, pork and lamb can increase rates of heart disease, cancer, stroke or type 2 diabetes, Eureka Alert reports.
The team also said they had found nothing to signal that people should reduce their intake of red meat.
Officials have been trying to encourage changes in human nutrition for years. Their recommendations are to limit the amount of red meat to 70 grams per day.
The study was conducted by scientists from the Dalhousie and McMaster University in Canada, as well as from the Cochrane Research Centers in Spain and Poland.
A total of 61 surveys that monitored the health of more than four million people were considered. The team found that the results of past research were of too poor quality to provide any suggestions as to how people should live their lives regarding what they consume.
As a result, a group of 14 experts from seven countries announced that people should continue to eat an average amount of red meat, which means up to four times a week.
“This is not just another study on red and processed meat, but a series of high quality systematic reviews resulting in recommendations we think are far more transparent, robust and reliable,” said Bradley Johnston, associate professor at Dalhousie University.
“Based on research, we cannot say with certainty that eating red or processed meat causes cancer, diabetes or heart disease,” he said.
Johnston further suggests that people should continue to eat their current doses of red and processed meat unless they themselves feel the need not to eat them.
“This is sure to be controversial, but is based on the most comprehensive review of the evidence to date. Because that review is inclusive, those who seek to dispute it will be hard pressed to find appropriate evidence with which to build an argument,” read the accompanying editorial by authors at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
The reason why the previous results were so poor is that the studies were so vague that there was no way to prove a direct link between meat intake and health.
The new research directly opposes the findings of the World Health Organization which claims there is significant evidence that processed meat can cause bowel cancer.