Bad for Bowels

And now for another reason to skip red meat and encourage family and friends to do so, too. A report published online in the journal Gut says that consuming too much linoleic acid—which is a fatty acid found in beef, pork, sunflower oil, and some margarines—can increase the risk of ulcerative colitis, a serious bowel condition. The illness causes inflammation in the bowels and can be disabling, and smaller amounts of the fatty acid are found in fish and white meat. Ulcerative colitis isn’t common, but if you want to keep your bowels healthy, be weary of those foods high in linoleic acid.