Meat is one of the most popular food for its tasty and delicious taste. Moreover, it provides various nutrition needed by our body. The nutrition content in meat are:
- Protein : food contains protein protects our immunity system in order to keep us stay fit and healthy. Moreover, it helps forming body tissues as well as beneficial for children development both for physically or mentally.
- Selenium : food contains selenium acts as antioxidant to protect our immunity system.
- Iron : Food contains iron protects our immunity system, prevents anemia and plays its important role for children development.
- Vitamin B Complex : food contains vitamin B complex increases our brain performance.
- Vitamin D : food contains vitamin D keeps our bones and teeth healthy.
- Zinc : food contains zinc increases our immunity system as well as keeps our body metabolism performs well.
- Omega 3 : food contains omega 3 helps our heart, liver, and nerves to perform well.
Based on the nutrition it contains, meat obviously deserves as the most nutritious food for our body. Unfortunately, eating meat brings such a dangerous effect for our body because most meat that is sold in the market is commercially produced in the farm.
Based on the result in The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, meat that is produced by farm cows contains low acid fat omega 3 but rich of acid fat omega 6 because most of their food is seeds. Moreover, farm cows are given certain hormones in order to gain their weight, such as estradiol, progesteron, and testosteron, synthetic hormone, zeranol and trenbolone asetat, melengesterol asetat. Those substances are potential to increasethe risk of cancer.
12 Effects of Eating Meat for Our Health:
1. Inflammation
Effects of Eating Too Much Red Meat could be source of inflammation. Meat is sort of food that is hard to digest, even though it is well cooked. This will make our digestion enyzme to digest meat increases. If meat is consumed in the early ages, it will keep arachidonic acid (acid fat omega 6) in our body that contributes the pain and inflammation. The inflammation will cause:
- tonsil
- joints pain
- ulcer
2. Cancer.
Meat contains several organic chemical toxic. Dioxin is one of them. Dioxin is from microscopis particle from the ash of insinerator in the grass that is eaten by cattle, such as cows, pigs, and chickens. Several scientists say that dioxin is a chemical hormone that disturbs the function of our body cells that potential for increasing the risk of cancer. Besides dioxin, farm cows have experienced lighting process using gamma lights that is produced by radio active, cobalt 60, or another electrical light.
The aim of lighting is to eradicate the bacteria in meat itself. However, the radiation eventually will produce radiolytic in the meat production that has carcinogenic trait. Therefore, we are suggested not to eat food product or meat product that has been contaminated by radiation.
3. Heart Disease.
Meat from commercial farm contents low fat acid omega 3 and high fat acid omega 6. Meanwhile, acid omega 3 is beneficial for preventing heart disease. Red meat contains a substance called carnitine. This substance will be automatically destroyed by the bacteria in our digestive system. The process to destroy meat in our digestive system will increase the cholesterol in our blood.
Carnitine that has been destroyed will transform into gas. The gas itself, by the convertion process in our heart, will emerge something that is called TMAO. TMAO is the “main actor” in the fat accumulation in our blood vessel. Carnitine and TMAO are potential to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Therefore, reducing the consumption of red meat can as well reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
4. Medicine Resistance.
Farm cows are usually given certain medicine or antibiotic in order to gain their weight and to prevent them from disease epidemic among the cows. The effect of antibiotic that is given routinely to the cows contribute human health. As a result, people who consume cows are resistance to medicine.
5. Lowering Blood Pressure.
The content of saturated fat can increase our blood pressure and the risk of hypertension. Consuming less meat will make our blood pressure normal.
6. Increasing the Risk of Diabetes.
Based on the academic research, red meat is said can increase the risk of diabetes. However, it has not yet been ascertained that consuming red meat causes diabetes. Several researches show that vegetarians have low blood sugar and trigliserida. On the contrary, in several cases of diabetes are found that the risk of diabetes is higher after consuming red meat.
7. Increasing Our Body Unpleasant Odor.
Based on the research, people are less consume red meat or do not consume red meat at all have a pleasant odor than they who often consume red meat.
8. Increasing Weight.
Consuming meat is proven effectively to increase our weight faster. Therefore, consuming less meat is good to support the diet program that we work on.
9. Disturbing Our Digestive System.
Meat is low fiber. Thus, consuming too much meat will make others food that is rich in fiber do not have “space” in our stomach. As a result, we will suffer from digestive problem. This is of course different if we eat vegetables and fruits that are rich in fiber. They also prevent us from suffering constipation.
10. Reducing Our Energy.
Minimizing the consumption of meat and replacing it by eating vegetables and fruits will give us additional energy. Vegetables can open our blood vessel so that the oxygen can flow freely to every part of our body and give us additional energy.
11. Increasing Early Ages Skin Problems.
Replacing raw meat with fruits and vegetables will increase the antioxidant and neutralize free radical so that our skin will be free from skin disruption, such as wrinkles and black spots.
12. Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD)
The disease in cow that is known as a bovine spongiform encephaloptahy (BSE) can also be suffered by human. This is because human eat cow that suffer from BSE disease. This disease is often experienced by people above 60 years old, either by male or female. However, recently young people also suffer from the CJD disease. This disease attacks our brain that leads to dementia or another terrible brain damage which eventually will bring us to early death.
We can minimize the health problem by choosing healthy meat that is safe to consume so that we will be prevented from several dangerous side effects. Especially if the meat is produced by cows that are grown in a commercial farm. Therefore, we should be careful in choosing kind of food that is healthy to consume.
4 characteristics of meat that are healthy to consume:
- The color of the meat is light red, not pale, glossy and dirty.
- The meat texture is elastic, not mushy, and a little stiff.
- The meat is not sticky and it is wet when it is touch.
- It has specific aroma: savory.
It is indeed that meat contributes various health problems if we consume it too much. However, knowing consumption tips will make us less worry.
8 tips to prevent us from several health problems after consuming meat:
- Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to reduce the effect after consuming meat.
- It is better to grill meat or to cook it as a soup, rather than to cook it as curry.
- Chew the meat well. Wait until it is smooth before you swallow it.
- Do not eat meat 2 hours before sleeping because it will make our intestine work harder to digest it.
- Do not eat another fatty meat, such as chocolate or cheese while we eat meat.
- Do not consume high calorie drink, such as sweet tea or syrup after we eat meat.
- Drink 8-10 glasses a day to prevent us from constipation.
- Keep doing sport regularly.