Some info on Neu5Gc:
Long-term exposure to this sugar in mice caused a five-fold increase in their chances of developing cancer."
Are mice carnivores? Are mice humans? What was the original chance of said mice to develop cancer? 1 in 10? 1 in 100? 1 in 100,000? 5x 0 is still 0, right?
"Humans cannot synthesize Neu5Gc because the human gene CMAH is irreversibly mutated, though it is found in apes."
Ok, so if it's found in apes, does this molecule give apes cancer? No? Why would it give humans cancer? Does taking other human antibodies and injecting them in mice cause adverse reactions to the mice that would normally not occur in nature?
Does this molecule even make it past digestion undamaged? Do our gut flora digest this molecule? Are there other compounds in meat that would prevent this molecule from causing or encouraging cancer growth?
"Neu5Gc is rapidly absorbed in the intestinal tract, some of which is converted to acylmannosamines (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acylmannosamine&action=edit&redlink=1) by intestinal cells and bacteria, and reconverted back to Neu5Gc in the body. According to an absorption study, about 3–6% of the ingested dose of Neu5Gc was excreted within 4–6 hours, with the peak excretion rate at 2–3 h and a return to baseline levels within 24 h." So, basically it would also depend on what kind of gut flora you have.
Looking at the supporting materials found here: http://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2014/12/26/1417508112.DCSupplemental
It looks to me like Cheddar Cheese has a far larger quantity of this acid, and yet, that's not mentioned anywhere. Why are the authors of this article and the media biased against red meat, but failed to mention that cheddar has an order of magnitude larger contents of this molecule? Something smells like a political agenda here! (see table S3, Bison has 586, cheddar has 5700! Wild caught salmon has 1488, tilapia 1849, mahi-mahi has 1615, whitefish caviar 7400, salmon caviar 3501 pmol/mg).
So why are all these articles against eating meat when they should be against eating fish, caviar, and cheddar? Hmmm???
"Neu5Gc is still reported to be found in concentrated in human cancers, as well as found in fetal samples, suggesting a dietary source." Big deal, cancers like eating sugars, this is a sugar molecule. Why not an article saying "Sugar causes cancer to grow?"
And a very interesting snippet:
"Disclosure: Ajit Varki and Nissi Varki are co-founders and have equity interest in SiaMab Therapeutics, Inc., a biotech company with an interest in Neu5Gc and anti-Neu5Gc antibodies."
