There is often some confusion about what is meant by both red meat and processed meat.
Red meat refers to beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and venison. It does not include chicken, turkey, goose, duck, game and rabbit.
Processed meat refers to any meat that has been preserved by smoking, curing, salting or using preservatives. This includes sausages, ham, bacon, salami, pate, and canned meat such as corned beef. It may also include other meats such as sliced luncheon meat made from white meat, such as chicken and turkey.
Generally, processed meat is higher in fat and salt.
Red meat is a good source of nutrients so can be part of a healthy diet. However, cutting down on red meat can help protect against bowel cancer. There is also strong evidence that eating processed meat is a cause of bowel cancer. This is thought to be due in part to the presence of nitrates that are used as preservatives in processed meat.
If you eat meat, you should aim to choose unprocessed meat.
How much red meat should we be eating for good health?
- Ideally aim to eat no more than about three portions a week. This is around 350-500g cooked weight (or 525 – 750g raw weight)
- Aim to avoid processed meat
What would a portion of meat usually weigh?
It may be difficult to work out how much meat you eat in a week. Below are some examples of usual portion sizes. If you find it difficult to estimate whether you are eating more than the recommendations, then perhaps write down how much meat you eat over a few days or a week. The weights given below are approximate weights for cooked meat.
- Grilled beef steak – 165g
- Roast meat as part of a Sunday roast – 90g
- Two cooked sausages and twothin cut rashers of bacon – 130g (processed meat)
- Quarter pound beef burger – 80g
How can you change habits to eat less meat?
If you eat meat then think about which changes would have the most impact in your diet. If you eat some meat every day then some of the suggested swaps may be helpful, alternatively consider your portion sizes.
- Try eating smaller portions of meat, e.g., a smaller steak or less meat for a roast
- If using red meat in casseroles and sauces then combine it with other foods such as such as lentils, chickpeas, beans or more vegetables so you eat less meat per portion
- Choose alternatives to red meat such as chicken, turkey, fish or vegetable sources of protein such as beans, nuts or Quorn. Use turkey or vegetarian mince for meat sauces
- Have meat-free days using fish, shellfish or try vegetarian alternatives. There are many websites that have tasty vegetarian recipes
Isn’t red meat a good source of iron?
Yes, red meat is a good source of iron, but cutting down on meat consumption to the suggested amounts should still provide sufficient iron in your diet. Iron can also be obtained from other foods such as eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, beans, lentils, nuts and breakfast cereals.
What about the other nutrients that meat provides?
Meat is a good source of protein, B vitamins including vitamin B12, and minerals including zinc and selenium. These can also be provided by other foods in the diet so by choosing the foods suggested above you should still provide the range of nutrients you require.
Is it necessary for me to cut out meat altogether?
Some people may choose to cut meat out of their diet completely for various reasons. It is not clear whether this gives more benefits in terms of bowel cancer risk, as there are other aspects of the diet that change as a result of cutting out meat.
Most recent recommendations suggest that we should all eat a more plant-based diet that limits red meat and aims to avoid processed meat.
Isn’t there some confusion about red meat and the risk of cancer?
A review of the research evidence was published in October 2019, and this hit the headlines as the conclusions were not as strong as previous recommendations, particularly those made by the World Cancer Research Fund.
The study collected information from other studies and looked at what the effect would be if people reduced their red meat intake by three servings per week. This makes it more difficult to compare the advice, as it is not known how much meat people were eating to begin with.
Perhaps this is an opportunity for you to look at how much you are eating in a week and see if your diet is similar to the World Cancer Research Fund recommendations.
