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Comment by mazamats | Hacker News Reader

What does not consuming red-meat have to do with anything? Consumption of red meat is at an all time high and is growing every year.

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> Consumption of red meat is at an all time high and is growing every year.

I was curious to see if this was actually the case, but the data doesn't really seem to support this claim. Meat consumption overall appears to have remained relatively stable over the past few years, but it's mostly been an increase in poultry intake that's made up for a simultaneous decline in red meat consumption.

http://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/about-the-industry/sta...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3045642/

http://fortune.com/2015/10/27/red-meat-consumption-decline/

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families...

According to another comment here, iron deficiency is a common cause of strokes in younger people. Diets low in red meat often lead to iron deficiency. (Of course, this can be addressed with a supplement, but not everyone who avoids red meat also takes iron supplements.)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14683737

Excess iron in men also elevates cancer incidence, so I don't think one should take an iron supplement if there's no need. A blood test is necessary. If you look closely at the men and women's multivitamins that are sold in stores, you'll see that there is no iron on the men's multivits.

Excess iron can be reduced by donating blood.

Also important: cast iron cookware introduces a non-insignificant amount of iron into cooked food, which can be detrimental (or beneficial) depending on the subject.

High iron also correlates to an increased risk of heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, and more. http://www.webmd.com/men/features/too-much-iron-in-your-bloo... That's one reason why I donate blood regularly. They check my iron levels, then bleed off a bunch I don't need.

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