Those of you struggling with abstaining from meat on Fridays might be interested in a new study by the National Cancer Institute. It followed 500,000 people for 10 years. Those those who at the highest proportion of processed meats and red meat (about 6oz a day of beef, pork, lamb, veal) had a higher rate of death than those who ate less. Those who ate a higher proportion of white meat had a slightly lower rate than those who ate less. The causes of death varied, but heart disease and cancer were both noticeable in the study.
It is interesting that modern science supports the ancient intuition that abstaining from meat brought a better state of body and spirit. It is really a sign of how foolish we are that we are even surprised. How much discarded wisdom will the next generation struggle to rediscover?
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1 comments:
As far as I can remember, back in college, ages ago, one of the numerous nutrition courses I took, emphasized, " eating 3 oz of red meat once a week is enough to prevent developing cardiovascular diseases and cancer". Hence, this study, does not surprise me at all. What is interesting though is that this study comes at an opportune time, the Lenten season.It reinforces the importance of eating red meat in moderation,a matter of self-discipline, in short.For the vegetarian and those who hardly eat red meat,observing abstinence on Fridays during the Lenten season will not be a struggle.
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