Is Meat Bad For You?
Is meat bad for you? Well, the short answer is “no.” Duh. Its also the answer you would probably expect to get from a self-professed “meathead.” But if you have spent any time whatsoever googling this question, all you will see is consistently contradictory data.
Those on a “no meat diet” aka vegans LIVE for the opportunity to not only let you (and your mom and your grandma and your second and third cousins and your college English professor) know that they are vegan, but they will spend hours throwing study after study at you to “prove” that non meat protein sources are equally as sufficient (which we know to be untrue – see our Soy blog) and that eating meat protein (in any quantity and regardless of quality) is bad for your health.
Meat eaters (like us), on the other hand, will counter every study vegans rely on to prove their point, with an equally persuasive article from a reliable source that disproves their theories.
Ultimately, this debate ends up being data v. data. A battle of who can collect the most information to justify their beliefs. We get it, we have our side too. But we don’t believe in extremes. We are not going to sit here and push the new (fad) carnivore diet on you. Why? Because we think that’s just as ridiculous as cutting out meat altogether.
Like anything else in this world, this too is about BALANCE. It’s about balance and its about the quality of the meat you are eating that dictates whether it is in fact “bad for you.”
For instance, if you are getting hot dogs or bacon from the 99 cent store (we love that place, don’t get us wrong but NOT for you know…getting meat) because of the source and the quality, we wouldn’t endorse that. Even your local grocery store carries familiar brands and the familiarity of the name makes you feel like it’s a “safe” purchase, but if you actually look at where that meat came from, the source, how the animals are fed, you would see that what you are actually eating is chalked full of hormones, antibiotics, and GMO.
It’s the hormones, antibiotics, GMO that = “bad.” It’s why, here at Meats2u, every product we carry is guaranteed to be hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and free-range. Are you picking up what we are putting down?
Good.
Even those that understand the concept that good quality meat is a safe and healthy dietary staple, still ask “is red meat bad for you?” This misconception has been especially ingrained in society today because of studies that showed that those who ate red meat five days a week had health issues versus people who did not. What these studies did not take into account was what else they ate with that red meat, or the quality of the red meat they were eating. Were these meat eaters getting Carl’s Jr with a large side of fries and a large Coke instead of eating a homemade bison burger with a sweet potato and veggies? Most likely. Yet these studies are biased and selective and used to point the finger at red meat as the culprit, when in reality it could be the processed garbage (refined sugars, etc) or other unhealthy lifestyle factors (sedentary lifestyle, smoking, poor genetics, etc) that resulted in these negative health effects.
Don’t buy into the hype. Don’t buy into the BS. QUESTION these studies. Don’t question your gut. Be selective about what you are putting into your body. Exercise. Make good choices.
Lucky for you, making a good choice with your protein source is easy…because (*drumroll please*) YOU CAN’T BEAT OUR MEAT.