Food Safety Magazine, October/November 2008

long been an advocate of reducing red meat consumption, acknowledges the issue. “Part of the problem is that the public is interested in nutrition…Very often science is presented to the public in a way that is conclusive when in fact the science behind it is often very preliminary, very inconclusive,” Willett told PBS’ “Frontline.”

But just as the public is bombarded with this news, researchers are not immune either and their attitudes and opinions can be impacted by the media “buzz” —and sometimes steeled against new findings that are so important to consider.

As Klurfeld points out, “The trouble is, we don’t eat nutrients, we eat foods, and we don’t eat them in isolation, we eat them as a dietary pattern.”

Recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine that have looked at dietary patterns both found that low-carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets caused more weight loss than low-fat diets. It has been documented that meat can contribute to a sense of satiation that can control hunger. Emerging research on the role of protein and satiety is promising and positive. Therefore, meat protein in the diet may play an important role in weight management.

The fact that the National Cancer Institute has estimated that 25 to 30% of seven major cancers are linked to obesity would suggest that meat can be a very important part of a weight reduction program and potentially reduce cancer risk.

So What Does All the Evidence
Show?

Were a panel to analyze all the research—epidemiological and experimental—and consider the number of studies that have shown that red meat’s nutrition benefits, the conclusions surely would be far different compared with those of WCRF/AICR.

Sodium Nitrite and Cured Meats: The Facts

Similarly, evidence of sodium nitrite’s safety and benefits also is emerging in a way that is turning scientific heads—and evoking skepticism from some corners.

When WCRF/AIRC declared in 2007 that there was no safe level of processed meat consumption—a statement that defies logic given that there are safe levels of everything—especially nutritious foods—they cited sodium nitrite in cured, processed meats as a potential reason to support their hypothesis.

In the same 2008 IAFP symposium where Klurfeld challenged WCRF, Nathan Bryan, Ph.D., of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston said many people have outdated notions about sodium nitrite’s safety.

“The public perception is that nitrite and nitrate are carcinogens but they are not,” Bryan said. “If nitrite and nitrate were harmful to us, then we would not be advised to