A frustrating study for vegetarians .. Eating meat leads to a longer life expectancy worldwide

They found that energy consumption from carbohydrate crops (cereals and tubers) did not increase life expectancy, and that total meat consumption was associated with increased life expectancy, independent of the competitive effects of total caloric intake, economic affluence, urban advantages and obesity.

“While adverse effects of meat consumption on human health have been found in some studies in the past, the methods and results in these studies are controversial and circumstantial,” says Dr. Yu.

The study’s lead author, University of Adelaide Professor Emeritus Maciej Heinberg, says that humans have adapted to eating meat from the perspective of their evolution over two million years ago.

“Meat from young and large animals provided optimal nutrition for our ancestors who developed genetic, physiological and morphological adaptations to eating meat products and we have inherited those adaptations,” explained Professor Heinberg.

But with the strong development of nutritional sciences and economic affluence, studies in some populations in developed countries have linked meat-free (vegetarian) diets to improved health.

“I think we need to understand that this may not conflict with the beneficial effect of meat consumption,” says Yanvi Jie, a nutrition expert involved in the study. “Studies looking at the diets of affluent and highly educated societies look at people with the purchasing power and knowledge to choose vegetarian diets. They reach the full nutrients that meat normally contains. Basically replace meat with all the nutrients that meat provides.”

“I think we need to understand that this may not conflict with the beneficial effect of meat consumption,” says Yanvi Jie, a nutrition expert involved in the study. “Studies looking at the diets of affluent and highly educated societies look at people with the purchasing power and knowledge to choose vegetarian diets. They reach the full nutrients that meat normally contains. Basically replace meat with all the nutrients that meat provides.”

“Before the introduction of agriculture, 10,000 years ago, meat was a staple food in the human diet,” she says.

She added: “Depending on the small groups of people you study and the types of meat you choose to consider, the scale of the role of meat in human health management may vary. However, when considering all types of meat for the entire population, as in this study, the relationship The positivity between meat consumption and general health at the population level is not discontinuous.”

Co-author and anthropologist at the University of Adelaide and biologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Dr. Arthur Saniotis, says the findings are in line with other studies showing that grain-based foods have less nutritional value than meat.

Dr Saniotis continued: “While this is not surprising to many of us, it still needs to be pointed out. It highlights that meat has its own components that contribute to our overall health beyond just the number of calories consumed, and that without meat in Our diet, we may not thrive. Our message is that eating meat is good for human health provided it is consumed in moderation and that the meat industry is done in an ethical way.”