“General meat consumption has been reported to be associated with all-cause and specific-cause mortality (Abete et al., 762).” Although people identify animal meat as something that is unavoidable in human life, it comes with its cost in human health. While eating animal meat, people are supposed to be careful about their diet equally with health. Eating meat is associated with some critical health problems like heart attack and cancer, which cause death very quickly. This paper seeks to explore the issue of humans eating animal meat. Humans should not eat meat because it is not healthy for them.
Animal meat supplies consumers with high amounts of proteins and fat. In the contemporary world, people have shifted their diet to increase energy density, which is featured by the increased intake of proteins and fat, mainly sourced from animal meat and also an addition of sugars. However, people usually lower their intakes of vegetables, fruits, and complex carbohydrates. Also, the major causes of cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality are chronic diseases, especially in Western nations. According to Abete et al., (763), “Very recently, results obtained from another meta-analysis on red and processed meat consumption have shown that the consumption of processed meat and total red meat is positively associated with all-cause mortality” The statement means that based on studies, it has been identified that humans should not eat animals or animal meat. Red and processed meat, as determined by research is the primary cause of colorectal cancer (Abete et al., 770). Processed meat is that meat which has been changed through smoking, fermentation, curing, and salting with the aim of enhancing flavor or advancing its preservation. The majority of processed meats have got beef or pork, although there might be other red meats, meat by-products like blood, offal, or poultry. Processed meats are things like beef jerky, biltong, corned beef, sausages, ham, and hot dogs and sauces and canned meat. Indeed, processed meats are typically associated with health problems.
The findings by Abete et al., (772) are that the consumption of processed and red meat is associated with the rising all-cause of mortality risk. Also, red meat and specifically the processed one might increase the danger of cardiovascular disease mortality because of some units which lead to cardiovascular changes. Also, the preservatives used in meat like nitrates and Na lead to the development of hypertension and promotes the metabolic disturbances in the body tissues and organs leading to type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, insulin resistance, and endothelial dysfunction. According to Asian studies, the connection between the consumption of red meat and CVD mortality is powerful (Abete et al., 775). However, studies found that there is a contrary link between the consumption of poultry and total death of men and women. People are therefore advised to consume white meat and less red meat. Thus, studies prove that those people who eat processed meat on a daily basis are likely to increase the risk of overall cancer mortality, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer, as well as breast cancer, especially for women (Abete et al., 776).
Among colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors, increased rate of mortality is experienced because of the consumption of red and processed meat. Those people who consume greater amounts of red and processed meat before they are diagnosed with CRC, they are identified to be at higher risk of death. McCullough et al., (3773) state that “There is convincing evidence that diets high in red and processed meat are associated with increased risk of incident CRC, and public health guidelines recommend limited red and processed meat consumption for primary cancer prevention.” This means that high consumption of red and processed meat increases the consumers' risk of cancer, especially colorectal cancer. Today, many people are diagnosed with CRC. However, during treatment and in their management practices, the CRC survivors learn more about diet and dietary measures that one should take to enhance their recovery and good health. The majority of people report having eaten a high amount of red and processed meat before they were diagnosed with CRC. Because of their habit of meat consumption, such individuals are at high risk of mortality caused by CRC. This is different from those people who are diagnosed with CRC and yet they have been consuming fewer amounts of red and processed meat before their diagnosis. Besides, CRC patients who continue eating red and prepared meat increase their risk of death from the particular disease. The case is different from those who are diagnosed with CRC and make the decision of reducing the amount of red and processed meat they take (McCullough et al., 3773). Hence, those people diagnosed with CRC and have the habit of taking high amounts of red and processed meat should be concerned about their health by checking their diet to avoid being at high risk of mortality.
Those people whose family, has a history of CRC and yet consume high amounts of red and processed meat are at greater risk of death from the critical disease compared to those who take reduced quantities of meat. When suffering from CRC, an individual might be having genetic polymorphisms in their detoxification pathways for the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines, which are mutagens formed when meat is cooked at high temperature. As a result, such people are at high risk of mortality, especially when in the positive family history of CRC. The heritable differences influence different effects of the general mortality risk for the patients of CRC and which consumer red and processed meat regularly. Although red and processed meats are generally dangerous to human health, the reported cases after diagnosis of CRC do not put the consumers at high risk of mortality (McCullough et al., 3773). Indeed, to maintain good health, people suffering from CRC or whose families have a history of CRC, they should reduce the amounts of red and processed meat they eat in their diet.
More to CRC, meat consumption is associated with other health problems. Among the significant health risks related to the intake of red meat are chronic diseases like cancer in general, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mortality rate resulting from these particular chronic diseases have been accruing since the 1990s. According to studies, increased incidence of some chronic diseases is associated with high consumption of red and processed meats. As identified by Wolk, (107), “Summary results from the most recent meta‐analyses (2010–2015) of red meat and processed meat consumption and risk of diabetes (T2DM), stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD) and heart failure (HF)-----.”
The statement means there is a connection between the consumption of processed red meat and incidence of mortality, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes among others. Processed and unprocessed meats generally cause the risk of heart failure, especially cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. According to the study, it is evident that increased intake of processed meat and unprocessed red meat is related to the increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (Wolk, 109). Therefore the consumption of a diet that is rich in red and processed meat increases one’s risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Because of meat consumption, fasting glucose in the human body tends to be very high (Wolk, 110). Besides, the additional intake of unprocessed red meat makes the insulin concentrations and fasting glucose to be more elevated.
In some studies, it was realized that the intake of a diet that has high contents of red and processed meat, especially for the pregnant mothers, is linked to the rising threat of gestational diabetes (Wolk, 113). Different components of red and processed meat that lead to the increasing menace of type 2 diabetes mellitus comprise of; L-carnitine and phosphatidylcholine, nitrosamine and nitrate, nitrite, haeme iron, improved glycation end-products, saturated fatty acids (SFAs)and branched amino acids (BCAAs). These units are identified to be associated with the increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (Wolk, 115). Also, they decrease the insulin activation in a patient's body resulting in the minimal insulin- inspired glucose transportation activity. Also, as the glycation end-products increase, they elevate the generation of nitric oxide through the induction of appearance of nitric oxide synthase and damage the glucose motivated insulin production using nitric oxide-reliant inhibition of cytochrome C oxidase and ATP mixture. Red meat is also identified as a source of haeme iron, which is easily seen and as the content increase in the body, this causes the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus through the rising glucose generation and reduced glucose use (Wolk, 117). Processed meat has higher sodium as compared to the unprocessed meat. Stroke is another health problem identified in the study to have been associated with the increased consumption of red and processed meat. Those people who consumer red and processed meat regularly, are likely to suffer from hemorrhagic and ischaemic stroke and might be at risk of stroke mortality (Wolk, 120). Therefore, increased consumption of red processed and unprocessed meat increases the risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer among other chronic diseases.
Conclusion
Humans should not eat meat because it is not healthy for them. Increased consumption of red processed and unprocessed meat puts the consumer at risk of health issues such as colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and hypertension among other chronic illnesses. According to various studies, the consumption of red and processed meat increases the risk of all-cause mortality. Those people who are diagnosed with these diseases and then continue with the use of high amounts of red, processed meat put their lives in danger of mortality. The components available in processed meat like nitrite sodium, and saturated fatty acids among others lead to the risk of hypertension, insulin resistance, and other health conditions. Therefore, people should mind about their diet and avoid the intake of increased amounts of red and processed meats. It is necessary for people to increase the number of vegetables and fruits taken in their diets for their enhanced healthy living.
Work Cited
Abete, Itziar, et al. "Association between total, processed, red and white meat consumption and all-cause, CVD and IHD mortality: a meta-analysis of cohort studies." British Journal of Nutrition 112.5 (2014): 762-775.
McCullough, Marjorie L., et al. "Association between red and processed meat intake and mortality among colorectal cancer survivors." Journal of Clinical Oncology 31.22 (2013): 2773.
Wolk, Alicja. "Potential health hazards of eating red meat." Journal of internal medicine 281.2 (2017): 106-122.
