Evaluating the Research on the WHO Red Meat Controversy

People have been bombarded with information that red meat causes cancer. But, when people look at it deeper, they can see that the claim that red meat causes cancer seems a bit odd. Red meat is any meat that comes from the flesh of animals, like cows and pigs, etc. Red meat has some unique properties that other meat sources do not have. An interesting thing about red meat is that not all of it is actually red.

Key Takeaways:

Red meat has a red-colored compound in it called myoglobin, which binds to oxygen, released from the bloodstream.
White meat has little myoglobin, consisting instead of fast-twitch muscle fibers that source their energy from glycogen.
The World Health Organization classified processed red meat as a carcinogen, specific to colorectal cancer, a group 1 status, on par with asbestos and tobacco.

“Thus, the widespread headlines saying that “red meat causes cancer headlines” is an incorrect interpretation of the WHO’s findings.”