Study Says Red, Processed Meat Leads To Increased Death Risks

According to a new study, consuming red and processed meats even in little amounts could increase the risk of death from all causes, especially cardiovascular disease. Saeed Mastour Alshahrani, lead author of the study aforementioned that the analysis fills a crucial gap left by previous studies that checked out comparatively higher levels of red meat intake and compared them with low intakes.

The results of the study were revealed within the journal 'Nutrients'. "A question concerning the impact of lower levels of intakes compared to no-meat consumption remained unanswered," Alshahrani aforementioned.

"We wanted to require a more in-depth examine the association of low intakes of red and processed meat with all-cause, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer mortality compared to those who didn't eat meat the least bit," the author further.

This study is a part of the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), a prospective cohort study of roughly 96,000 Seventh-day Adventist men and women within the United State and Canada. Adventists are a unique population -- approximately 50% are vegetarians, and those who consume meat do so at low levels.

This allowed researchers to analyze the impact of low levels of red and processed meat intake compared to zero-intake during a massive setting like the Adventist Health Study. The study evaluated the deaths of over 7,900 individuals over the associate 11-year period. Diet was assessed by a valid quantitative food frequency form and mortality outcome data were obtained from the National Death Index. Of these people who consumed meat, 90% of them only ate about two ounces or less of red meat per day.

Nearly 2,600 of the reported deaths were due to cardiovascular disease, and over 1,800 were cancer deaths. Processed meat - changed to enhance flavour through curing, smoking, or seasoning (such as ham and salami) -- alone wasn't considerably related to the risk of mortality probably due to an awfully little proportion of the population who consume such meat.

However, the entire intake of red and processed meat was related to comparatively higher risks of total and cardiovascular disease deaths. Michael Orlich, the co-author of the study, aforementioned these new findings support a major body of analysis that affirms the potential pathological state effects of red and processed meats.

"Our findings give additional weight to the evidence already suggesting that eating red and processed meat may negatively impact health and lifespan," Orlich concluded.

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