In the largest study of its kind, involving over half a million men and women, older Americans who eat large amounts of red meat like beef, pork and lamb, as well as processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts were found to have a greater risk of death from either heart disease or cancer, making it a dangerous red meat health connection.
This study supports the long-standing advice of other experts to limit both these kinds of meats, and appears in the March 23, 2009 Archives of Internal Medicine.
The researchers looked at over 545,000 subjects aged 50 to 71 years old, recruited from AARP members as part of the National Institutes of Health Diet and Health Study, and asked about their eating habits.
The results did rely on subjects remembering what they ate, and this isn’t always accurate. Also, the pool of subjects was drawn from a group thought to be healthier than other Americans, which means the findings might not apply to everyone, but they are certainly representative.
Over 70,000 of the subjects died during the decade long study, and the researchers accounted for risk factors like smoking, high BMI (body mass index) and family history of cancer in their analysis.
Still the findings point an accusing finger at red and processed meats.
Eating a quarter pound hamburger daily gave a 22% higher risk of dying from cancer; 27% higher risk of dying from heart disease as compared to subjects who ate just 5 ounces of meat a week.
Women who ate a lot of red meat had a 20% higher risk of dying of cancer; 50% higher risk of dying of heart disease than women who ate less of this type of meat.
This consumption level might seem pretty extreme, and perhaps not what most of us eat each day. In 2003-2004, the most recent year’s statistics are available, adults on average ate 2.5 ounces of red meat per day.
“The consumption of red meat was associated with a modest increase in total mortality,” said Rashmi Sinha, lead author of the study.
Processed meats carried slightly lower overall risks than red meat according to the research.
Also important to note, people whose diets had more white meat (chicken and fish) were found to have lower risks of death.
“This fits together with the findings of the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Cancer Society, which recommend limiting the consumption of red meat,” added Sinha, who is a senior investigator with the nutrition epidemiological branch at the Cancer Institute.
Just why are red meats so bad for our bodies?
No one has pinned down the answer quite yet.
Some experts believe the trouble might come from the iron and fat in the meats, others blame the salt, nitrates/nitrites of processed meats.
Not only that, when meat is cooked (especially fried or charbroiled) at high temperatures substances are created that can be mutagenic or even carcinogenic. In other words – trouble.
Another argument for cutting out the red meats?
Livestock contribute to greenhouse gas emissions that have been implicated in global warming.
Barry Popkin, who wrote an accompanying editorial to the study, suggests, “We’ve promoted a diet that has added excessively to global warming.”
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The Danger Of Eating Too Much Red Or Processed Meat continued…
Most experts suggest that meat should not be eliminated entirely from your diet, but rather become a supporting part of meals along with other healthy options.
Choose fish, poultry or beans as an alternative to the red meats. Leaner cuts can also be part of a healthy diet, and according to the American Meat Institute are an excellent source of iron, B12 and zinc, as well as other essential vitamins and minerals.
If you have risk factors for heart disease or cancer, you’ll want to talk to your own doctor to find out what diet and lifestyle changes you can make to today to help keep your body healthy and disease free. Don’t let the link between red meat and health be your downfall.
