A study published in the May 17 issue of Circulation performed a meta-analysis of 20 different studies of meat intake and whether there was a causal relationship to diabetes and heart disease.
Red meat (unprocessed beef, pork, and lamb) showed no association with cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus.
Each 50g daily serving of processed meat, such as bacon, hot dogs, deli meats, and sausage raised the risk of heart disease by 42% and diabetes by 19%. Processed meat was defined as any meat preserved by smoking, curing, or salting, or with the addition of chemical preservatives.
Both types of meat had similar amounts of saturated fats and cholesterol, the big difference was in sodium (4x more), and 50% more nitrates.
So salt and preservatives seem to be the whole cause of the problem. Other studies always treated all meats as equal, so healthy red meat was inadvertently included on the ‘bad’ list.
Go out and eat that hamburger you always wanted! Though, don’t have a fast food burger full of preservatives, just grind up a steak. And skip the bun since the grains will kill you.
Another good article link here.