Red meat consumption: Emphasis on chronic diseases or sticking to nutrient deficiency?

In a manuscript in this issue of the journal, entitled ʺDetermination of the Causes of Tendency toward Red Meat and Meat Products in the West of Iranʺ, Falahi et al.[1] concluded that the amount of red meat (beef or lamb) and red meat products (such as sausages and hamburgers) intake was approximate‐ ly high among the population of western Iran (594.6 ± 956.2 g/week for red meat and 132.5 ± 251.1 g/week for red meat products). Although correct for western Iran, such a finding cannot be generalized to the whole Iranian population. They suggested the most important factors of tendency towards red meat consumption to be delectability, palatability, accessibility, cultural and traditional beliefs, lack of food diversity, animal husbandry, nomadic life, and hospitality in this part of Iran. Cautious recommen‐ dations regarding red meat consumption should be provided as some reports showed that red meat consumption was associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Iranians.[2] In fact, in‐ creased red meat intake was cross‐sectionally re‐ lated to higher level of inflammation among Iranian population.[2] Inflammation is in turn related with increased risk of chronic diseases.[2] The same re‐ sults have also been mentioned in other studies on different populations.[3,4] Previous studies have also reported the relationship between red meat intake and other chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.[5,6] The saturated fat content, animal protein, and high iron contents of red meat, especially heme iron, could be responsible for this association.[2] Heme and non‐ heme iron have been shown to differently affect di‐ abetes and cardiovascular risks. Heme iron from red meat has been suggested to differ from other sources of iron in affecting human health. However, the exact mechanism is not clear yet.[2] Even a recent research in this field showed that dietary intakes of zinc and heme iron from red meat, but not from other sources, are associated with greater risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.[3] Falahi et al. reported high levels of both red meat and red meat products consumption.[1] Some re‐ searchers believe that processed red meat intake, not the unprocessed red meat, is responsible for increased chronic disease risks.[5] Nowadays, in‐ creased amounts of fast food consumption due to nutrition transition provides large amount of processed red meat consumption in the diets.[7] Therefore, more prospective studies are required to clarify the different effects of red meat or processed red meat consumption. Besides the evidence regarding chronic diseases, the prevalence of anemia, zinc deficiency and malnutri‐ tion is still reported among Iranians.[8,9] Recommen‐ dations to consume red meat are needed especially for vulnerable groups such as children, adolescents, and women. Since red meat is a rich dietary source of zinc, iron, vitamins B6 and B12, and protein,[2] it should be considered as a part of dietary recom‐ mendation especially among Iranian children and women. According to the evidence, dairy consump‐ tion is also lower than the optimal level in Iran[10] which shows the importance of paying attention to the animal source of protein. Consumption of le‐ gumes, as a part of healthy diet and good source of vegetable protein, is reduced among Iranians due to nutrition transition and increased amounts of processed red meat (rich in saturated and trans fat‐ ty acids) intake in this population.[11]