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Is Red Meat Bad For You?

Published: Oct 2, 2019 · Modified: Jan 19, 2021 by Michael Ruhlman · 9 Comments

I didn't know whether to be glad or frustrated by yesterday's page one story on a new study that finds decades of nutritional advice and intuitive common sense to be wrong: There's little evidence that eating beef and pork leads to increased chances of your getting cancer or cardiovascular disease.

Traditional nutritionists and doctors are up in arms, saying the study is reckless and harmful.

Now who to believe?For me, the only thing the study tells us is that almost no study on what food is good or bad for you is reliable. Do they have these studies in France? I doubt it. Because the French generally don't treat their food as medicine, the way we do. They eat nourishing food and enjoy life and each other.

My own nutritional advice is to not even listen to me. I say listen to your body. Do you feel good after you eat a meal, or lethargic or worse? The only reliable nutritional information seems to be that heavily processed foods are probably bad for you. Do we know this from studies? Some. But the more reliable information is that in America, studies have shown that people who are prevented from buying fresh food or food that needs cooking, tend to be sicker and die earlier than people who have ready access to groceries.

And this is why I encourage people to cook, here and in my books. And I have a new one coming out called FROM SCRATCH, about how ten common meals can teach us everything we need to know about cooking. Steak Frites for example! I hope you'll have a look when it comes out later this month. And if you want to pre-order it through my publisher, they have a special gift for you (because for some reason, publishers believe that pre-orders really, really help a book, and I love my publisher, Abrams).

I will conclude with the best diet advice I've ever heard, from Harry Balzer: Cook your own food. Eat whatever you want, so long as you cook it yourself.

Happy cooking!

Follow-up: NYTimes report on the author of the study had ties to meat industry.

Gina Kolata discusses the controversy and what you need to know, also in NYTimes.

Gina Kolota

« Non-Wheat Breakfasts
What Is From Scratch »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Paula

    October 02, 2019 at 6:04 pm

    I read the whole blog, but this is the part I liked the best. "They eat nourishing food and enjoy life and each other."

    Reply
  2. Carole

    October 02, 2019 at 7:01 pm

    How do we pre order your book.. will it ship before Amazon can.. Can’t wait!

    Reply
    • brian Quirk

      October 02, 2019 at 7:06 pm

      Click on the "order link" in the body of the copy

      Reply
      • Michael Ruhlman

        October 07, 2019 at 3:58 pm

        fixed, thx!

        Reply
    • Kimbo

      October 03, 2019 at 12:28 am

      Just wanted to say that it's good to see you posting again.

      Reply
  3. Michael Ruhlman

    October 03, 2019 at 3:42 am

    Thank you!

    Reply
  4. Lisa

    October 04, 2019 at 4:18 pm

    Indeed, there is nothing so satisfying as cooking for oneself, whether it’s just scrambled eggs and toast, a Thanksgiving feast for loved ones, or that midnight steak on the grill. Can’t wait for my copy of your new book and immersing myself in it for a weekend. Welcome back to posting.

    Reply
    • Michael Ruhlman

      October 07, 2019 at 3:59 pm

      thx!

      Reply
  5. Keesha

    October 18, 2019 at 6:09 pm

    Some terrific pictures. Impressive shades. http://trishahardeman398.wikidot.com/blog:23

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Michael Ruhlman, an award-winning author and cook who writes about chefs, food and cooking, among other things.

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After I wrote my book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, a colleague and I built a ratio calculator for iPhones that allows you to cook without recipes. For doughs, batters, custards, sauces, stocks and more, simply plug in the amount of one ingredient and the amounts of the other ingredients are instantly calculated. It's also a handy reference for dozens of our most common preparations. ($4.99 in the app store.)

Collaborate

I’ve collaborated on a dozen books, including cookbooks and a memoir. If you'd like to collaborate on a project, please contact my agent, Gail Hochman, [email protected], at Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.

For speaking engagements contact, Kip Ludwig, [email protected].

Hi, I'm Michael Ruhlman, an award-winning author and cook who writes about chefs, food and cooking, among other things.

More about me →

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

See my books!

Ratio App for iPhone

After I wrote my book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, a colleague and I built a ratio calculator for iPhones that allows you to cook without recipes. For doughs, batters, custards, sauces, stocks and more, simply plug in the amount of one ingredient and the amounts of the other ingredients are instantly calculated. It's also a handy reference for dozens of our most common preparations. ($4.99 in the app store.)

Collaborate

I’ve collaborated on a dozen books, including cookbooks and a memoir. If you'd like to collaborate on a project, please contact my agent, Gail Hochman, [email protected], at Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.

For speaking engagements contact, Kip Ludwig, [email protected].

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