Eating More Red Meat May Mean Quicker Death
The researchers estimated that substituting one serving per day of various other foods - like fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy, and whole grains - for red meat was associated with a 7% to 19% lower risk of dying during follow-up.
In an accompanying commentary Dean Ornish, MD, of the University of California San Francisco, noted that “plant-based foods are rich in phytochemicals, bioflavonoids, and other substances that are protective.”
“In other words,” he wrote, “what we include in our diet is as important as what we exclude, so substituting healthier foods for red meat provides a double benefit to our health.”
Negative Health Effects of Red Meat
Regardless, nutritionists hardly need more evidence about the potentially negative health effects of eating red meat. For starters, the saturated animal fat in red meat contributes to heart disease and atherosclerosis. Recent research also shows that frequent red meat eaters face twice the risk of colon cancer as those who indulge less often. Red meat is also thought to increase the risks of rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis.
Meanwhile, according to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarian diets can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, colon cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, and other debilitating medical conditions. While red meat is a key source of protein and vitamin B12 in North American diets, nutritionists explain that properly planned meat-free diets easily provide these important nutrients while keeping you healthier in the long run.
Hu and colleagues said that the saturated fat, cholesterol, heme iron, sodium, and nitrites in red meat might explain some of the risk of cardiovascular death, and that some compounds either found in red meat or created by high-temperature cooking - including nitrosamines, nitrosamides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heterocyclic amines - are potential carcinogens and might explain some of the risk of cancer death.
They acknowledged that the study was limited by potential errors in measuring red meat intake and by the uncertain generalizability of the findings outside of the study population, which was predominantly non-Hispanic white health professionals.
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The study was funded by grants from the NIH and by a career development award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
The study authors reported that they had no conflicts of interest.
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By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today