Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Increased risk of heart disease. Like other foods from animals, beef contains cholesterol and
saturated fats that increase the amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood, raising your
risk of heart disease. To reduce the risk of heart disease, the National Cholesterol Education
Project recommends following the Step I and Step II diets.
The Step I diet provides no more than 30 percent of total daily calories from fat, no
more than 10 percent of total daily calories from saturated fat, and no more than 300 mg
of cholesterol per day. It is designed for healthy people whose cholesterol is in the range of
200–239 mg/dL.
The Step II diet provides 25–35 percent of total calories from fat, less than 7 percent
of total calories from saturated fat, up to 10 percent of total calories from polyunsaturated
fat, up to 20 percent of total calories from monounsaturated fat, and less than 300 mg cho-
lesterol per day. This stricter regimen is designed for people who have one or more of the
following conditions:
Existing cardiovascular disease
High levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs, or “bad” cholesterol) or low
levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs, or “good” cholesterol)
Obesity
Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes, or diabetes mellitus)
Metabolic syndrome, a.k.a. insulin resistance syndrome, a cluster of risk fac-
tors that includes type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes)Increased risk of some cancers. According the American Institute for Cancer Research, a diet
high in red meat (beef, lamb, pork) increases the risk of developing colorectal cancer by 15
percent for every 1.5 ounces over 18 ounces consumed per week. In 2007, the National Can-
cer Institute released data from a survey of 500,000 people, ages 50 to 71, who participated
in an eight-year AARP diet and health study identifying a higher risk of developing cancer
of the esophagus, liver, lung, and pancreas among people eating large amounts of red meats
and processed meats.
Food-borne illness. Improperly cooked meat contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 has been
linked to a number of fatalities in several parts of the United States. In addition, meats con-
taminated with other bacteria, viruses, or parasites pose special problems for people with a
weakened immune system: the very young, the very old, cancer chemotherapy patients, and
people with HIV. Cooking meat to an internal temperature of 140°F should destroy Salmo-
nella and Campylobacter jejuni; 165°F, the E. coli organism; and 212°F, Listeria monocytogenes.
Antibiotic sensitivity. Cattle in the United States are routinely given antibiotics to protect
them from infection. By law, the antibiotic treatment must stop three days to several weeks
before the animal is slaughtered. Theoretically, the beef should then be free of antibiotic
residues, but some people who are sensitive to penicillin or tetracycline may have an allergic
reaction to the meat, although this is rare.
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