Yes !!!

Great news in today's WSJ !

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A Guilt-Free Hamburger

Maybe that juicy steak you ordered isn't a heart-attack-on-a-plate after all.

A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that the heart risk long associated with red meat comes mostly from processed varieties such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs and cold cuts—and not from steak, hamburgers and other non-processed cuts.

The finding is surprising because both types of red meat are high in saturated fat, a substance believed to be partly responsible for the increased risk of heart disease. But the new study raises the possibility that when it comes to meat, at least, the real bad actor may be salt. Processed meats generally have about four times the amount of salt then unprocessed meats.

In a report that pooled data from 20 different studies from around the world, the researchers found that daily consumption of about two ounces of processed meat was associated with a 42% increased risk of heart disease and a 19% heightened chance of diabetes. By contrast, a four-ounce daily serving of red meat from beef, hamburger, pork, lamb or game wasn't linked to any increased risk of heart disease. There was, however, a small, but statistically insignificant risk of diabetes. ...

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I'm looking forward to a fine black Angus hamburger today, fried in olive oil, with pickles and Valveeta cheese..

But ... sighhhh ... I guess Spam comes out poorly, as does my wonderful European sausage. Guess I have to keep the amounts of those that I eat down.

More

That study exposes a major composite fallacy in much public health, diet and even climate dialogue - the combination of Secundum Quid, aka Hasty Generalization, and Argumentum ad Verecundium, the inappropriate appeal to experts.

Far too often, results of poorly designed research studies which do not properly segment major differences in the object of the study (food types, people) are propagated as Truth incarnate for policy. Yet they are simply wrong in their conclusions. As this more thorough study shows.

Eat some red meat ... and hold the salt.

Word of the Day

"Recension" - noun [$10]
Recension means 1. the revision of a text; 2. a particular form or version of a text resulting from such revision.
Sentence: I gleefully await the recension of dietary recommendations that will include more red meat - steaks and unsalted hamburgers.