Doctors routinely advise their patients to limit red meat consumption on the premise that less meat means a lower risk for heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. A study published online on May 17, 2010, in the journal Circulation now challenges that assumption. (1)
Dr. Renata Micha, a dietitian at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA, recently completed an exhaustive review of 20 studies that involved over a million subjects – including approximately 37,000 individuals who suffered from coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, or diabetes – and concluded that red meat is not associated with a higher risk for any of these conditions. However, Dr. Micha and her colleagues did show that processed meats (hot dogs, lunch meats, etc.) were, in fact, linked to a higher incidence of CHD and diabetes.
Neither red meat nor processed meat was associated with an increased risk for stroke.
Only One Daily Serving of Processed Meat Confers a Significant Risk
Previous clinical studies – most of which haven’t discriminated between unprocessed and processed meats – have shown mixed results in terms of cardiac and metabolic health risks. Thus, current dietary recommendations are based on expected health impacts from fats and cholesterol typically contained in these food items, rather than any conclusive data.
In their analysis of nearly 1600 abstracts – which eventually produced the 20 qualified studies – Micha’s team showed that both red and processed meats contain similar amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat; processed meats, however, contain up to four times more salt and 50% more nitrates and other preservatives.
Dr. Micha suggested that it is the salt and preservatives found in processed meats that confer the higher health risks…and those risks are not inconsequential. One 50 gram serving of processed meat daily – the equivalent of one hotdog or two slices of lunchmeat – increases one’s risk for CHD and diabetes by 42% and 19%, respectively.
Red Meat May Have Other Health Risks
Given the results of the Circulation study, a person might be tempted to increase his or her consumption of red meat. Micha warns, however, that her work does not necessarily imply that meat lovers can throw caution to the wind.
Even though unprocessed red meat doesn’t appear to increase one’s risk for CHD or diabetes, the study demonstrated that eating more red meat didn’t decrease those risks, either. Furthermore, the consumption of significant amounts of both unprocessed red meat and processed meats has been linked to other health risks, such as colorectal cancers.
For the time being – even though red meat seems to have been exonerated from its past association with CHD and diabetes – experts still recommend limiting its consumption. The timeworn advice to include more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts, and fiber in Americans’ diets, while limiting the consumption of meats, sugars, and processed foods, still stands.
Source:
Micha R, Wallace S, Mozaffarian D. Red and processed meat consumption and risk of incident coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Circulation.2010(Published online before print May 17, 2010, doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.924977)
Stephen Allen Christensen - Dr. Steve Christensen's writing has appeared in magazines, professional journals, poetry anthologies, and children's books since 1976.
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