New study links even low consumption of red and processed meats to increased risk of death – Food

A new US study showed that even eating small amounts of red and processed meat could increase the risk of death, compared to the total absence of meat.

Conducted by researchers at Loma Linda Health University in California, the new study involved 72,149 participants at Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), a large cohort study of Adventist men and women in the United States. seventh day in the United States. and Canada.

Since about 50% of Adventists are vegetarians and those who eat meat eat only small amounts, the use of this cohort allowed researchers to examine the effect of a low level of consumption of red and white meat. transformed from eating no meat in a vast setting.

"A question about the effect of reduced consumption compared to a meat-free diet has remained unanswered," says Saeed Mastour Alshahrani, lead author of the study. "We wanted to look more closely at the badociation between low intake of red and processed meat, all-cause cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality compared to those who did not eat meat at all."

Researchers badessed participants' diets with the help of a meal frequency questionnaire and collected mortality data from the National Death Index.

Of the participants who ate meat, 90% of them ate only about two ounces or less of red meat a day.

Read also: Red Meat Linked to Colon Cancer in Women: Study

The findings, published in the journal Nutrients, showed that at an average follow-up of 11.8 years, there were 7,961 deaths, of which 2,598 were due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 1,873 were due to cancer.

In addition, the team also found that relatively low consumption of red meat and processed meat was badociated with a moderately increased risk of all-cause death and CVD compared to zero consumption.

However, eating processed meat alone, ie modified to improve taste by salting, smoking or salting, has not been significantly badociated with mortality risk, probably because of the small proportion of participants in this study who consumed it. type of meat.

The researchers say the new study suggests that eating red and processed meats, even in small amounts, can increase the risk of all-cause deaths, especially cardiovascular disease.

Co-author, Michael Orlich, MD, PhD, also commented that the findings support the growing body of research that suggests that red and processed meats can have a negative effect on health.

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