Red, processed meat linked to higher risk of death: Study

According to a new study, consuming red and processed meats even in small amounts may increase the risk of death from all causes, especially cardiovascular disease.
Saeed Mastour Alshahrani, lead author of the study said that the research fills an important gap left by previous studies that looked at relatively higher levels of red meat intake and compared them with low intakes.
The results of the study were published in the journal ‘Nutrients’.The study evaluated the deaths of over 7,900 individuals over an 11-year period.
Diet was assessed by a validated quantitative food frequency questionnaire and mortality outcome data were obtained from the National Death Index. Of those individuals who consumed meat, 90 per cent 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 alone was not significantly associated with risk of mortality possibly due to a very small proportion of the population who consume such meat. However, the total intake of red and processed meat was associated with relatively higher risks of total and cardiovascular disease deaths. (ANI)