The Homa Files

Punch line: The conventional wisdom is that red meats have higher saturated fat and cholesterol levels which increase heart  attack risk. 

The good news:  a new study suggests that a juicy burger isn’t a heart-attack-on-a-plate after all.

The bad news: hot dogs, bacon and sausage are still no-no’s.

Badest of the bad: there was a TV special on the least healthy restaurant foods served in America … my favorites: a place in NJ serves deep fried hot dogs and a place in Tennessee serves deep fried burgers … both had lines running down the street ala Georgetown Cupcakes.

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Excerpted from WSJ: A Guilt-Free Hamburger, MAY 18, 2010

A new study from Harvard suggests that the heart risk long associated with red meat comes mostly from processed varieties such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs and cold cuts — and not from steak, hamburgers and other non-processed cuts.

The finding is surprising because both types of red meat are high in saturated fat, a substance believed to be partly responsible for the increased risk of heart disease. But the new study raises the possibility that when it comes to meat, at least, the real bad actor may be salt. Processed meats generally have about four times the amount of salt as unprocessed meats.

The findings suggest that people, especially those already at risk of heart problems or with high blood pressure, should consider reducing consumption of bacon, processed ham, hot dogs and other packaged meats that have a high salt content. Salt increases blood pressure, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

None of this suggests that steak is a new health food. While red meat wasn’t linked to an increased risk of heart disease in the study, it didn’t lower it either.

The American Meat Institute Foundation took issue with the findings, saying they conflict with national dietary guidelines. “The body of evidence clearly demonstrates that processed meat is a healthy part of a balanced diet.”

Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704314904575250570943835414-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwOTExNDkyWj.html

This entry was posted on May 27, 2010 at 6:33 am and is filed under Food & Drink, Health & Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.