Urinary 1-methylhistidine is a marker of meat consumption in black and in white California seventh-day Adventists

Meat consumption predicts risk of several chronic diseases. The authors val idate the accuracy of meat consumption reported by food frequency questionn aires and the mean of eight 24-hour recalls, using urinary methylhistidine excretion, in 55 Black and 71 White Adventist subjects in Los Angeles and S an Diego, California, in 1994-1997. l-Methylhistidine excretion predicts ve getarian status in Black (p = 0.02) and in White (p = 0.005) subjects. Spea rman's correlation coefficients between I-methylhistidine and estimated mea t consumption were usually between 0.4 and 0.6 for both food frequency ques tionnaires and 24-hour recall data. This is despite the chance collection o f dietary recalls and urines from omnivores on meatless days.