In the above video, Denise Minger explains the nitty-gritty of having healthy meat. To put it in a gist, eating the right kind of meat is healthy and must also be prepared healthily.
Denise Minger is a popular blogger and author of healthy nutrition and diet books. One of the most popular books written by Denise Minger is entitled “Death by Food Pyramid,” in which she narrates how ‘shoddy science, sketchy politics, and shady special interests have shaped American Dietary recommendations–and destroyed our nation’s health–over recent decades.’
Denise Minger is primarily a Raw Vegan enthusiast, yet she includes a few cooked foods in her diet as some of them cannot be eaten raw (tubers, fish meat, etc.). She believes that nutritional science must be accessible to all and that a good diet must contain all nutrients essential for the body.
The above-given video is her presentation at the Ancestral Health Symposium in 2012. Her presentation entitled ‘Meet Your Meat: An Objective Look at a Controversial Food.’
Consuming a high quantity of meat regularly differs from the right diet to be followed. If you are habituated to high meat consumption, it is easy to overcome these issues with simple adjustments.
Eating Animal Organs Are More Beneficial To Health
One of the erratic meat consumption habits found in most people is ‘eating only the fleshy muscle meat.’ Even most restaurants and eateries do offer only fleshy muscle meat.
Because of this modern meat-eating trend… the younger generation today has no taste or liking for eating animal organs.
Many of us consider it to be unclean to eat animal organs.
Our grandparents cherished eating cattle’s lungs, livers, intestines, etc., more than muscle meat.
Only a few, who care about the nutritional value, understand that eating liver is far healthier than muscle meat.
There are also other reasons why the excess consumption of muscle meat may become bad for health.
The amino acid methionine, largely present in muscle meat, could be healthier.
Because of the excess amount of sulfur present in amino acids methionine, there will be a possible increase in the production of acid through sulfate ions.
To neutralize these sulfate ions, the body uses the calcium ions from the bone that can cause net urinary loss of calcium. The bones become weaker as bone mineral density becomes reduced over a period in this manner.
Unhealthy Preparation Of Meat Is Bad
If you are fond of fried, grilled, or roasted meat…you may enjoy the great taste, but gradually you are putting your health at high risk.
Meat burned and cooked at high temperatures has many hidden bad effects on health.
Meat, when burned at high temperatures, due to some chemical reactions, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Heterocyclic Amines (HAs) are formed in the meat. Both of these compounds are bad for health.
Studies have shown PAH and HA compounds are similar to the free radicals that cause certain animal cancers.
None of the cancer types in human beings are proven to be directly linked to these two compounds, but it is safe to avoid them.
Any food that is cooked at high temperatures undergoes several chemical reactions that cause damage to the food. It will also lead to the loss of some of the nutrients and protein in the meat.
Meat is best and healthy when it is cooked at temperatures below 1500C. Having the meat cooked by steaming or stewing is better than burning it on grills or deep frying.
While cooking meat, make sure to flip and stir the meat frequently to avoid getting them burned.
Having charred and smoked meat occasionally at a picnic party may be tolerable just for the fun of it….but strictly avoid charred and smoked meat.
Should You Limit The Intake Of Red Meat?
Red meat intake at a moderate amount is not going to do any serious harm to your body. If you are on a low-fat diet, make sure the meat is ‘lean meat’ by slicing off the fat layer on them.
Again, as we discussed above, it must be cooked healthily.
One of the major health concerns that can arise from red meat consumption is its high iron levels.
The excess amount of iron minerals in the body is bad and cannot be dispelled from the body. (Only the menstruating females lose a lot of excess iron through ovulation discharge but not others).
A healthy human being can tolerate even the excess iron mineral, but if an individual has a hereditarily acquired disorder called Hereditary Hemochromatosis, her body will not be able to tolerate the excess iron present in the body.
Anyone with Hereditary Hemochromatosis health disorder must strictly avoid red meat rich in iron minerals.
If you have a problem with excess iron in the blood, it is good that once you donate your blood. Do not have any food or supplement with too much Vitamin C, as it will increase iron absorption.
On the other hand, people who suffer from anemia disease (lack of iron in the blood) should eat more red meat.
Nice to have a blood checkup done at least once in 6 months to identify the iron level in your blood. If your iron level is normal, eating red meats or other iron-rich food is nothing to panic about.
Final Thought
Denise Minger is earnestly driving home to us a great point in this video; we must eat more ‘organ meat’ than ‘muscle meat.’
The meat is NOT as bad as the raw vegans think…meat has many essential nutrients that cannot be got from all raw vegan diets.
The healthy ways to eat meat depend on what you choose and how you prepare it. Eating organs like the liver, lungs, etc., gives much more value to nutrition than the ‘meat chunk.’