# Protein Scaries Article (and nuance) **URL:** \ **Category:** Nutrition Q&A \[Moderated\]\ **Created:** [September 23, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/protein-scaries-article-and-nuance/20120 "2026-09-23T14:53:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RVR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@RVR](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/RVR)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/protein-scaries-article-and-nuance/20120/1 "2026-09-23T14:53:51Z")
Hi docs, Great audio article (is there a name for this I’m not using?) re: protein scaries. I’ve been following you guys for a decent amount of time, but this was a good overview especially for people unfamiliar with your material and the literature as a whole. I often (frustratingly) see red meat lumped in with “processed red meat” in the literature with little effort to distinguish between the two in discussion. I’m familiar with your guys’ take on this historically, as well as having listened to the podcast with Alan Flanagan some time ago. Given the results of more nuanced variable pairings like those in the Maximova et al study ( [Co-consumption of Vegetables and Fruit, Whole Grains, and Fiber Reduces the Cancer Risk of Red and Processed Meat in a Large Prospective Cohort of Adults from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project - PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7468967/) ), I imagine your general recommendations haven’t really changed beyond overall diet pattern, namely that in the presence of sufficient F&V (6+ servings), exercise, appropriate sat fat levels, unprocessed red meat isn’t really worth paying attention to for most people who train and eat it in reasonable quantities (~500-700g a week on the high end)? ---
**Author:** ![Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/forum.barbellmedicine.com/jordan_feigenbaum/32/1315_2.png) [@Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Jordan_Feigenbaum)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 3:13pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/protein-scaries-article-and-nuance/20120/2 "2026-09-23T15:13:26Z")
Heh, we can just call it a newsletter. Regarding red meat, I wouldn’t say that our position is that it doesn’t matter, because the amount and type matter. Dr. Baraki and I would both favor people generally eating _less_ red meat and more plant-based protein. Still, the majority of red meat intake in the developed world isn’t unprocessed beef or similar, it’s burgers and pre-packaged meals, as part of a low quality, low fiber dietary pattern generally speaking For people who are eating a mostly unprocessed diet that’s high in fiber and meets their energy needs, unprocessed red meat is far down the list of things I care about. I think your suggested amount here is fine. Still, if you’re asking whether it would be healthier to eliminate this and eat primarily plant-based proteins, I suspect the answer is yes…though at what cost? 😂 **Further reading** -[How to Eat a Healthy Diet - Barbell Medicine](https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/how-to-eat-a-healthy-diet/) -[The Science of Red Meat and Health - Barbell Medicine](https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-science-of-red-meat-and-health/) ---
**Author:** ![RVR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@RVR](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/RVR)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/protein-scaries-article-and-nuance/20120/3 "2026-09-24T17:57:42Z")
Fair! I want to be careful with the wording and it’s heavily dependent on the caveats I previously mentioned. I should clarify that I’m specifically referring to _unprocessed_ red meat – ground beef, leaner steak varieties, game meat, etc. If one includes the caveats of high veg/fruit intake and a pattern of “whole foods”, minimal processed meat, sat fat around recommended levels (though I imagine individual genetics have a role here – I seem to have been gifted with genetically low [sub 20th percentile] LDL levels even at higher-than-I-should-be bodyfat levels), there’s little room for “bad red meat”, and the data doesn’t seem to indicate much of a discernible increase in risk in the aforementioned population (at least cancer risk). > Still, if you’re asking whether it would be healthier to eliminate this and eat primarily plant-based proteins, I suspect the answer is yes…though at what cost? 😂 I concur 😄! I think this question is possibly in the realm of TWOUD, but I’m also curious about the classification of processed meat – I assume there is probably a difference between nitrate-cured meats and something like making your own sausage, where the only difference between pan-cooked ground pork and the aforementioned sausage would be the casing and the shape? I don’t imagine there are enough people doing this sort of thing in data pools (along with the other dietary pattern habits) to be able to make granular distinctions. ---
**Author:** ![Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/forum.barbellmedicine.com/jordan_feigenbaum/32/1315_2.png) [@Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Jordan_Feigenbaum)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/protein-scaries-article-and-nuance/20120/4 "2026-09-25T14:35:02Z")
Regarding the processing, most sausage and other processed meats have been cured and/or have some preservatives added, in addition to other nutrients removed. If you’re making your own, all bets are off, though the components of the casing you’re using and other elements of preparation could be helpful for discerning whether there should be any practical limits on intake. If you’re asking whether or not I think you’d benefit from reducing meat intake and increasing plant intake, the answer is yes, I do. I don’t know how big of a benefit, as I’m not privy to your exact dietary pattern and how big of a change would be made, but I think it’s generally true for most people that eating less meat and more plants would be beneficial, particularly red meat of any kind. And all of this is based on probability, plus your preferences, and so on. It may not be worth it to replace a few meat based meals per week with plant sources, though if you asked me whether or not it’d be beneficial to do so, I’d say yes, it probably is. It would matter proportionally more for someone with a lower quality diet, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![RVR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@RVR](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/RVR)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/protein-scaries-article-and-nuance/20120/5 "2026-09-25T17:09:09Z")
Thanks for the response! That makes sense and was generally along the lines of what I assumed. I appreciate that the recommendations are largely general and average-dietary-pattern-oriented; I was asking more theoretically than anything else, not specific to my own intake, but I appreciate the input. Relevant to my own personal intake, it’s probably lower on the list of priorities to specifically target: there are numerous other things I am working on swapping out for more veggies and fruit, moving more with desk work (Dr. Baraki’s mentioning of a regularly using a walking pad has me interested), upping my workout intensity, etc. I eat very little processed meat (even homemade “processed” meat) and would be very surprised if my red meat threshold was averaging near 700g a week year-round (especially outside of hunting season). I think if my daily protein was hitting well above 1.6g/kg I would agree with you, but there are many days I’m under, though I’m increasingly trying to add more accessible/low-cost plant options for the sake of convenience and affordability as much as anything else. Something to bear in mind when looking at my overall pattern though, so will continue to look for more plant options. Thanks again!