Adventist Journal Online | Eating even small portions of red meat can be risky, according to a study



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The results show that even limited consumption can increase the risk of death.

By: Briana Pastorino, Loma Linda University Health News

A new study in the journal nutrients suggests that the consumption of red and processed meats – even in small quantities – can increase the risk of all-cause deaths, especially cardiovascular diseases. The study was conducted by nine researchers from Loma Linda University.

Saeed Mastour Alshahrani, lead author of the study and PhD student at the School of Public Health at the University of Loma Linda, said the research filled an important gap left by previous studies focusing on relatively high levels of red meat consumption and comparing them to a low.

"A question about the effect of lower absorption levels compared to a meat-free diet has remained unanswered," Alshahrani said. "We wanted to look more closely at the combination of low consumption of red and processed meat with all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality compared to those who did not eat meat at all."

This study, "Red Meat and Processed Meat and Mortality in a Low-Meat Population", is part of the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), a prospective cohort study of approximately 96,000 Adventist men and women seventh day in the United States. States and Canada. The principal investigator of AHS-2 is Gary E. Fraser, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Loma Linda University.

The researchers pointed out that Adventists are a unique population: about 50% are vegetarians and those who consume meat do so at a low level. This allowed researchers to study the effect of low levels of red and processed meat consumption compared to zero consumption in a vast setting such as the Adventist Health study.

The study evaluated the deaths of more than 7,900 people over an 11-year period. The diet was evaluated with the aid of a quantitative questionnaire validated on the frequency of meals and the results concerning mortality were obtained from the National Index of Deaths. Of the people who ate meat, 90% of them ate only about two ounces of red meat a day.

Nearly 2,600 of the reported deaths were due to cardiovascular disease and more than 1,800 were cancer deaths. Processed meat – modified to enhance flavor by drying, smoking or salting (like ham and salami) – was not significantly badociated with mortality risk, probably due to a very small proportion of the population who consume this meat. However, total consumption of red and processed meat was badociated with relatively higher risks of death from total illness and cardiovascular disease.

Michael Orlich, co-director of AHS-2 and co-author of the present study, said these new findings support a large body of research that baderts the potential adverse health effects of red and processed meats.

"Our results give more weight to evidence already suggesting that eating red and processed meat could have a negative impact on health and longevity," said Orlich.

The study was published in nutrients in the context of the "Special Issue, Dietary Assessment in the Epidemiology of Nutrition: Public Health Implications of Lifelong Health Promotion".

the original version of this story was published on the health website of Loma Linda University news site.


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