2023-07-30 00:58:38
[축산신문]
Emeritus Professor Yunjae Choi (Seoul National University)
President of Livestock Properly Knowing Research Center
meat good for brain development
The history of meat-eating culture along with the development of human civilization
Why You Should Eat Meat
The history of meat coincides with the beginning of human civilization. After the Paleolithic Age, when humans were able to use tools and handle fire, people were able to eat cooked meat. And as we start to eat cooked meat, our humanity faces a great change.
By roasting meat and consuming it safely, our human brain developed rapidly. The energy use rate, which used to be used for digestion, was reduced to less than half, and the energy saved at this time was used to develop the brain. The fact that the volume ratio of the brain increased more than threefold from 400cc in the past to 1300cc began with the consumption of cooked meat.
For this reason, the claim that eating meat increases concentration or helps improve memory is also persuasive. Metabolites contained in meat, such as spermidine, carnitine, and creatine, which are known to be effective in preventing dementia and improving brain function, and glutathione and thiol groups, which are attracting attention recently, have antioxidant effects through the removal of free radicals and active oxygen, CEI, a peptide contained in meat, converts angiotensinogen into angiotensin and inhibits the activity of ACE, an enzyme that increases blood pressure, thereby suppressing blood pressure rise. This is why elderly adults are actively recommended to eat meat.
Meat is the secret to longevity
There are several famous longevity villages around the world. Professor Lee Won-jong, who visited the world’s top 10 longevity villages, cited meat and fermented milk intake as one of the commonalities of the villagers. This is a somewhat contradictory result from the recent trend of insisting on vegetarianism for health.
However, this does not mean that eating a lot of any meat is always good. The people of Longevity Village steadily consumed meat every day, but maintained an appropriate amount of their diet. And boiled as much as possible, and followed a cooking method that minimized seasoning. Along with meat, green and yellow vegetables and fruits were consumed in an appropriate ratio in a well-balanced manner.
The low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diet, which has been attracting attention as a healthy food for several years, is also an attempt to reduce carbohydrates and consume various nutrients evenly, including meat. Of course, in the case of normal people, the ratio of eating too much fat or reducing carbohydrates to an extreme is not good. It is more important than anything else to eat a well-balanced intake of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fibers.
A safe and healthy meat-eating lifestyle
Lastly, if you think regarding your health, I recommend eating domestic meat. In the case of domestic meat, it is a product that has been meticulously carried out through precise quantitative inspections necessary for the entire process from birth to breeding, slaughter, and distribution. For example, antibiotics, synthetic antimicrobials, hormones, pesticides, and others (ractopamine, clenbutenol, etc.)
In addition, livestock products sold in Korea are safely managed through the ‘livestock product traceability system’. The traceability system records and manages information on the entire process from birth to breeding, production, and sales of cows, pigs, chickens, and eggs, helping to quickly respond to problems by identifying related information.
However, in the case of imported meat products, it is difficult to ascertain which livestock products have already been brought in and how they were raised. Even if the traceability system is applied to some imported livestock products, it is not easy to visit the farmhouse for inspection or to find a solution if a problem occurs.
In addition, although imported livestock products go through quarantine, it is not as perfect as domestic quarantine as it is done by selecting only a small amount of samples among many products. For example, various substances such as feed additives, herbicides contained in hay, and hormones can be used during the long hours of raising livestock. However, since import quarantine is conducted by selecting only a small number of samples, there is a blind spot in that all substances remaining in the product cannot be identified.
After all, the livestock traceability system or quarantine system for imported products has no choice but to trust only the information they provide when importing. Therefore, it is different from livestock products that are raised in Korea and ensure that the entire process is safe. Today, imports of beef, pork, and chicken are also increasing every year, so it is time to pay more attention to imported meat.
references
Lee Won-jong, 『Health at 100 years old, not a coincidence』 (JoongAng Books, 2009)
Translated by Hiroshi Shibata Now and Soyoung Lee, 『Meat Eaters Live Longer』 (JoongAng Books, 2014)
Heejoo Park, “A Study on the Improvement of Food Traceability Management System” (Korea Consumer Agency, 2012)
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