Beans Over Beef, Why?
Firstly the name is catchy, but it also encompasses what I want this site to be about. I want to show, provide evidence for, and hopefully prove to and convince anyone who might be reading this to make a positive change in their lives and those of their families. As a disclaimer I am vegan, but everything I will mention on BeansOverBeef will be backed by proper peer reviewed science. I am going to focus heavily on the health benefits of being plant based but will sometimes mention ethical or climate related concerns. As another disclaimer, I am not a doctor, just someone who enjoys learning. Always speak with a professional before making changes. Now, enough about that let’s talk about legumes and meat, specifically in this post, I want to focus on processed meat and red meat.
Processed Meat
First of all what qualifies as processed meat? The main definition is meat that has had anything done to or added to it that is not simply cutting, grinding or mixing. So what qualifies?
- Bacon
- Hot Dogs
- Sandwich Meat
- Sausages
- Jerky
- Canned Meat
- Cured Meat
What’s wrong with all of these? In 2015 the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) added processed meat to their category 1 carcinogen list. Category 1 means that this item is a known carcinogen, it without a doubt causes cancer. In this case colerectal cancer. What are some other things on that list?
- Smoking Tobacco
- Asbestos
- Plutonium
Now I am not saying that having bacon and eggs is as bad as being exposed to plutonium. Carcinogens can vary in potency, but our exposure to all these things should be as close to zero as possible.
What About Red Meat?
Good question. Red meat falls into the IARC’s category 2A carcinogen list. This is their list of things that are very likely carcinogens. They have stated that there is strong mechanistic evidence supporting it being carcinogenic. What does that mean? It Means that there are biological pathways, chemical reactions, or other underlying mechanisms which show that consuming red meat has a carcinogenic effect.
Then why is it not in category 1? It seems that there is some variance between red meats. Wild elk seems like it may be better than farmed cow, perhaps due to the much lower fat content. The cooking method also seems to play a role with dry, high heat cooking, having much worse outcomes than wet cooking methods. I will cover in a later post how the Maillard reaction (browning of proteins) is dangerous for your health.
So problem solved then, just eat boiled wild elk... right? Hold on a second, all animal products are pro-inflammatory which is not a good thing ,but also way beyond the scope of this post. As with the Maillard reaction expect a post about inflammation in the future.
How Bad is it?
Eating a burger or 50 grams of processed meat does to your digestive system what smoking 2 cigarettes does to your respiratory system. That might not seem so bad, but if you are a non-smoker, would you suddenly start smoking before and after every meal, every day for the rest of your life? That negative effect adds up.
So, Beans Then?
Actually, all the legumes, that just doesn’t sound as good in a website name. Of all the legumes, there is only one sneaky one who is much more like a nut than a legume, that being peanuts. As long as you are not allergic, there is nothing wrong with some peanuts, but they are very calorically dense and high in saturated fats. Better to treat them like nuts and seeds in your diet. Firstly what are legumes? Here is a list of some of the most common legumes:
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Soy
- Lima Beans
- Fava Beans
- Navy Beans
- Kidney Beans
- Black Beans
- Pinto Beans
- Mung Beans
- Green Beans
- Peas
There are many more than this and some of these also have multiple varieties. These are all high protein and high fiber seeds or fruit of plants from the fabaceae family. Why can we substitute meat with these? They are a protein source that unlike meat, has an anti-inflammatory response. Legumes are also very high in prebiotics which is the stuff in food that fosters good probiotic gut bacteria.
In fact, eating more legumes has been shown to yield the greatest life expectancy gains of any lifestyle change you can make. The second-most impactful change is eating more whole grains and third is eating less meat. The NCI (National Cancer Institute) ran one of the largest and most comprehensive studies on diet and lifestyle ever called the NIH-AARP. This study followed over half a million people for a decade and observed how their lifestyle and nutrition affected their health outcomes. What they found was that by even replacing just 3% of your animal protein intake with legume protein, you can expect a 10% decreased risk of all cause mortality. Basically you have a lower chance of dying.
What are the takeaways?
- Cut processed meat out of your diet.
- Seriously reconsider having red meat in your diet.
- Replace animal proteins in your diet with plant based protein from legumes. Any amount can have an impact.
