Beef may well be one of the most vilified foods on the planet today. A recent example, found on the Medical Daily website, lists seven reasons a person should avoid eating beef. Those include mentions of studies tying consumption of beef to Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, colon cancer and type 2 diabetes. Mad Cow Disease is reason No. 5 to never eat beef; and the fact that "cows are nice" is reason No. 7. Downplaying this type of article as internet fear-mongering risks underestimating its impact. Consider that 72% of adults in the U.S. go online for health information, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The vast majority use search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo to find answers to medical questions. Beth Kitchin, assistant professor in nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, said she's not surprised to find people are often confused by reports singling out this or that food as a cause of cancer.
"I think basically our whole profession is so crazy now. You can find somebody to tell you whatever you want to hear, whether it's that Paleo is great, or you need to go gluten-free, or that sugar is toxic. We are throwing out whole categories of food," she said. "Looking at beef, reports that came out where the World Health Organization [WHO] said red meat is a carcinogen were really exaggerated. There is no food that is toxic for people. Sugar is not toxic. Beef is not toxic. That doesn't mean we shouldn't limit ourselves, but this all gets very hyperbolic. The key to good health, as boring as it sounds, is moderation."