6 Pros and Cons of Eating Meat

If you are a foodie, then you might have been concerned about the debates on meat consumption. While no expert can say that a person should eat as much meat as he likes or that no one should eat meat, there certainly has been some commotion on this subject matter. To build an opinion ourselves, it is best to know its pros and cons first.

List of Pros of Eating Meat

1. It provides high-quality protein.
Eating meat will provide our bodies with long strings of amino acids, which we cannot produce naturally or get from other types of food. Not surprisingly, consumption of animal protein is linked to increased muscle mass. Aside from this, research shows that it is associated with increased bone density in older people, helping them lower risk of getting fractures. So, if you want to gain or maintain muscle mass and prevent bone fractures and osteoporosis, then eating meat is surely beneficial.

2. It does not necessarily raise the risk of having cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
While there are claims about meat contributing to cardiovascular disease and diabetes, for the reason that it has high contents of saturated fat, these claims have actually been debunked quite thoroughly in recent years, where studies have shown such saturated fat is not linked to heart disease. In a Harvard study of more than a million subjects, there has been found to be no association between unprocessed meat and these illnesses, though it found a significantly increased risk for processed meat.

3. It allows us to function at best.
Humans have been eating meat since the olden days, with a digestive system that is well-equipped to process fats, proteins and nutrients that are found in meat. Truth is, humans are omnivores that function best from eating both animals and plants, but meat has been one of the main reasons of our evolution to become the dominant species.

List of Cons of Eating Meat

1. It risks consuming harmful hormones.
According to research, hormones that are added to red meat have been found to increase the risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers found out that these hormones or hormone-like compounds have increased cancer risk by attaching themselves to certain hormone receptors on tumors.

2. It can cause weight gain.
Red meat is known to have high calorie contents, which means that you will gain some weight from eating meat, especially when you are sedentary because the stored energy that is unspent can make you fat. Now, this can mean that you will be at risk of getting cardiovascular disease.

3. It contributes to the decrease in life expectancy.
Considering the cons of eating meat, it can decrease your life expectancy. In fact, the leading cause of death of many people in the world has been found to be a diet that is rich in calories, saturated and trans fat, high bad cholesterol levels, which can be developed by eating meat.

With these pros and cons of eating meat, do you think that it would be good for you, or not?