Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Edit: Took out my personal story as it muddles the question. This UC article states that red meat can cause inflammation. Also googling around many sites come up that confirm this. I know that many of the meat studies are flawed so I was wondering the Paleo take on it.

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/18964

edited Mar 17 2011 at 5:52

asked Mar 15 2011 at 6:47

Geoff
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	The above publication also indicts milk products – DudleyP Mar 15 2011 at 9:27
	Dairy was a cause of inflammation for me. I feel better after cutting it out and my sinuses also thank me for it – Geoff Mar 15 2011 at 20:41

Kirik · Answer 1 · 2011-03-15 19:30:59Z UTC

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Too many omega 6, not enough omega 3 = Inflammation

answered Mar 15 2011 at 19:30

Kirik
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"When I eat red meat, which is most days of the week, I only eat grass fed organic beef with occasional organic grain finished beef." - Grass finished generally has a really good o6:o3 ratio – Casey Mar 15 2011 at 19:49

Yep, Kent, which answers his question. – Kirik Mar 15 2011 at 20:03

Kirik, how does that answer the question? As you saw in my original question I almost only eat grass fed organic beef which is high in omega 3. Are implying that the study used conventionally grown beef? – Geoff Mar 17 2011 at 16:53

Geoff, I assumed that the study did not use grass-fed beef as I read it and searched it and saw no evidence that grass-fed beef was used. If grass-fed beef was NOT used, then the omega 6 to omega 3 ratios don't apply to a guy like you, who eats grass-fed. – Kirik Mar 17 2011 at 17:19

Stabby · Answer 2 · 2011-03-17 06:11:33Z UTC

From the article

"Using specially bred mouse models that lacked the Neu5Gc molecule -- mimicking humans before the molecule is absorbed into the body through ingesting red meat -- the researchers induced tumors containing Neu5Gc, and then administered anti-Neu5Gc antibodies to half of the mice. In mice that were given antibodies inflammation was induced, and the tumors grew faster. In the control mice that were not treated with antibodies, the tumors were less aggressive

Others have previously shown that humans who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (commonly known as NSAIDs) have a reduced risk of cancer. Therefore, the mice with cancerous tumors facilitated by anti-Neu5Gc antibodies were treated with an NSAID. In these animals, the anti-inflammatory treatment blocked the effect of the Neu5Gc antibodies and the tumors were reduced in size. "

So, like, duh more inflammation means more cancer, but it doesn't follow that more NeU5Gc molecules means a significant amount of inflammation. They used anti-inflammatory drugs and then there was little effect. Well I don't know about drugs but I have anti-inflammatory faculties and they are called anti-inflammatory eicosanoids, and furthermore my immune system makes it own anti-bodies and communicates properly from the second the pathogen is detected. In the first example they basically just let inflammation run wild, but in the human body when all is right and our tissue HUFA isn't distorted inflammation turns on quickly and then turns of expediently, little harm done.

It should be noted that we ingest tons of stuff that needs to be attacked by the immune system every day.The pathological things we ingest are going to be those that undermine our body's ability to work properly, like omega 6 oils or wheat lectins. Or that replicate like an infectious disease.

I may be wrong. I know our biochem experts will be along eventually, but I just think it's naive to extrapolate sustained inflammation in a weird case of mice with injected antibodies to the highly-elegant natural inflammatory cascade. What I do know is that I eat a fair bit of meat and have very low c-reactive protein.

Can Red Meat Cause Inflammation?

2 Answers