In authentic, culinary terms, red meat is not white when it is cooked, but is red when it is raw. Red meat also includes all kinds of mammal meat along with some types of fowl like ducks. Red meat is the source of a few, important kinds of minerals, vitamins, iron and protein. It is also a great source of antioxidants, with one in particular, Alpha Lipoic Acid, being found in abundance in red meat. The vitamins that you can find in red meat consist of riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin B12 and niacin. The types of minerals that you can find in red meat consist of phosphorus and zinc.

Cancer Risk

You know that you have eaten too much red meat if you develop certain kinds of cancer after having eaten red meat for a while. Numerous studies over the years have established a link between eating excessive amounts of red meat and the development of certain kinds of cancer like breast cancer, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer and lymphoma. Eating red meat that has been cooked may only increase your risk of getting cancer because of the development of carginogenic compounds by the name of heterocyclic amines. These heterocyclic amines are created when red meat is cooked. Recent research from 2009 by the National Cancer Institute showed a connection between eating too much red meat and increased, subsequent mortality from both cardiovascular disease as well as cancer.

Cardiovascular Problems

If you begin developing cardiovascular problems after long periods of eating red meat, then you may have eaten too much. The onset of cardiovascular problems has also been found in studies that have researched red meat and its effects on health. One possible reason for this association between red meat and cardiovascular diseases is the high amount of saturated fats that presents itself in red meat. In 2010, an analysis of studies involving 348,000 test subjects found that when saturated fats where replaced with another kind of fat, polyunsaturated fat, there was actually a reduction in cardiovascular disease observed in the aforementioned test subjects. Moreover, additional research has also uncovered links between cancers like prostate cancer and breast cancer and the intake of saturated fats. Again, the presence of saturated fats in red meat makes red meat a possible health risk if eaten in excess.

Hypertension

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is yet another reason to suspect that you may have eaten too much. In a recent study conducted by the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, there was a conclusion that the risk of high blood pressure went up with the increased ingestion of red meat; this study focused on women over the age of 45. Said study was a very comprehensive one that followed the test subjects for a period of 10 years. The same study advised women not to cut out red meat from their diets totally, but simply to limit it, and eat it more occasionally.