Rhonda People in general, they don't need that much...You don't need that much protein. Obviously, if you're like wanting to bulk up and doing the weight training thing, then your protein requirements are a little different, but your goals are also different, you know. So depending on what your goals are and with the meat there was a study that came out...Well, the press release came out yesterday for the World Health Organization basically classified processed meat as a group one carcinogen or group one, meaning it's got components in it that are cancer-causing to humans.

And that's not something that's new. I mean, there are dozens and dozens of studies that have been published over the last few decades that have shown not only correlative data where they're looking at people that are eating processed meat and cancer incidence, which is always ridden with many different errors, I mean, because correlations never show a causation, right. But there's also the mechanistic studies where they've doven into what's in the processed meat. And they've given it to animals and tried to figure out exactly what's going on. And one of the major problems with processed meats is they're loaded with nitrites, which are preservatives, but the problem is is that nitrites can form nitrosamines. It can form nitrosamines in our colon. And also they can form nitrosamines when they're in contact with water and heat.

So if you've got some bacon that has nitrites and you're frying it in a frying pan and the water, you're forming nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic. So they're mutagens, meaning when humans consume them, they cause damage to the DNA of a cell that's in contact with it. In this case of eating it, the first cells that come in contact with it are your gut, right, the colon. So they basically damage the DNA in such a way that it can lead to cancer cells. It damages it in such a way that it can potentially lead to cancer. Now, there's a lot of different factors that are going on, depending on all the other dietary factors in your life and lifestyle. These are all very important, right, but these nitrosamines are carcinogens. That's a fact. And nitrites form them. They form them in the gut, bacteria in our guts, and also when you put them in water and heat and things like that.

Nitrates, which people like to often use as the counter, well they're in plants. And they also can form nitrosamines, which is true, but nitrates, which are everywhere in nature...They're in all plants and they're all over the place. They tend to form nitric oxide and not nitrosamines. And the reason for that is because plants also are packaged with a whole other bunch of nutrients and micronutrients. In the plant, it was designed a certain way. And so the high vitamin C content which are in all green leafy plants, all plants fruits, vegetables, they all have vitamin C. The vitamin C present there shifts the pathway, the nitric oxide. And so it tends to not form nitrosamines. And that's why eating plants, you end up getting more nitric oxide when you eat them, which is good because it's good for vasodilation. It helps endurance, right? You're getting more red blood cells, more oxygen.

So the nitrates are in plants, it's really not a good counter argument. And when I hear that, I just...I know people haven't dug into the mechanism and that you don't understand. But so really nitrites, I think processed meat is a terrible thing to eat on a daily basis. You know, once in a while, it's fine. You want to grill out and have your hot dog on whatever, Fourth of July or whatever, you know. I mean, it's...You obviously wouldn't, but I might, you know. I tend to avoid them. Like I rarely...Like I don't go out and eat processed meats because I know that it's not good for you, especially to eat on a daily basis.