Eating
Red Meat Linked
To
Increased Risk of Cancer and Cardiovascular
Mortality
A Recent
Study from Harvard School Of Public Health...
(HSPH) researchers has found that red meat
consumption
is associated with an
increased risk of total, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality.
The results also showed that substituting
other healthy protein
sources, such as fish, poultry, nuts, and legumes,
was associated with lowering
the risk of mortality.
The
study was first published
online
in Archives of
Internal Medicine
in March, 2012.
"Our
study adds more
evidence to the health risks of eating
high amounts of red meat, which has been associated with type 2
diabetes, coronary
heart disease, stroke, and certain
cancers
in other studies," said the researchers.
The researchers observed 37,698 men from the Health Professionals
Follow-up
Study for up to 22 years and 83,644 women
in the Nurses' Health
Study for up to 28 years who were free of cardiovascular disease
(CVD) and cancer at baseline.
Diets were assessed through questionnaires
every four years.
A combined
23,926 deaths were documented
in
the two studies, of which 5,910 were from CVD and 9,464 from cancer.
Regular consumption
of red meat, particularly processed red meat, was associated
with
increased mortality risk.
One daily serving
of unprocessed red meat was associated with a 13%
increased risk of mortality, and
one daily serving
of processed red meat (one
hot dog or two slices of bacon)
was associated with a 20%
increased risk. Among
specific causes, corresponding
increases
in risk were 18% and 21% for cardiovascular mortality, and 10%
and 16% for cancer mortality.
These analyses took
into account chronic
disease risk factors such as age, body mass
index, physical activity, family history of heart disease or
cancer.
Red meat, especially processed meat, contains
ingredients that have been linked
to
increased risk of chronic
diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. These
include heme iron,
saturated fat, sodium, nitrites, and certain
carcinogens
that are formed during
cooking.
Replacing
one serving
of total red meat with
one serving
of a healthy protein
source was associated with a lower mortality risk: 7% for fish,
14% for poultry, 19% for nuts, 10% for legumes, 10% for low-fat dairy
products, and 14% for whole grains.
The researchers estimated that 9.3% of deaths
in men and 7.6%
in women could have been prevented at the end of the follow-up if
all the participants had consumed
less than 0.5 servings
per day of red meat.
"This
study provides clear
evidence that regular consumption
of red meat, especially processed meat, contributes
substantially to premature death," said the
investigators "On
the other hand, choosing
more healthful sources of protein
in place of red meat can confer
significant health benefits by reducing
chronic
disease morbidity and mortality."
Support for the
study was provided by the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute and the National
Cancer
Institute.
Story Source:
Harvard School of Public Health.
Journal Reference:
Red Meat Consumption
and Mortality. Archives of
Internal Medicine,
March 12, 2012 |