A recent systematic review and metaanalysis of 20 prior studies totaling about 1.2 million people has good news and bad news for meat lovers. The good news is that eating unprocessed red meat such as beef, pork or lamb was not associated with an increased risk of heart disease or diabetes. The bad news is that the same cant be said of processed meats like bacon, sausage, salami, luncheon meat or hot dogs: Eating just 50 grams (1.8 ounces, about one hot dog or two slices of salami) of processed meat daily was associated with a 42% greater risk of heart disease and 19% increased risk of diabetes.Renata Micha, PhD, RD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, and colleagues combed the scientific literature in the largest research review to date of the health effects of eating meat. Prior studies did not separately evaluate unprocessed red vs. processed meats, which might have different health effects. Out of 1,598 studies they looked at, 17 prospective cohort studies and 3 case-control studies met the criteria for inclusion. Together, the studies included 23,889 cases of coronary heart disease and 10,797 of diabetes.Processed meats were defined as any meat preserved by smoking, curing, salting or chemical preservatives. Processed meats contain similar amounts of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol as unprocessed meats, but have about four times more sodium and 50% more nitrate preservatives.Micha and colleagues commented, This suggests that differences in salt and preservatives, rather than fats, might explain the higher risk of heart disease and diabetes seen with processed meats, but not with unprocessed red meats.Asked to comment on the findings, American Heart Association spokesman Robert Eckel, MD, of the University of Colorado-Denver said, The major difference in heavily processed and less processed meat is sodium and chemical preservatives. We have tended to blame the saturated fat in red meat for heart disease, but the study suggests it may not be that simple.
| What About Meat and Cancer? This new review of research on red and processed meats didnt look at cancer risk. Previous studies have shown that higher consumption of total meat and processed meat is associated with a greater risk of some cancers, such as colorectal cancer. But, much like prior studies of meat and heart disease, these investigations typically considered processed and unprocessed meats together (total meat), and did not separately evaluate unprocessed red meats. For now, the American Cancer Society www.cancer.org recommends limiting your intake of both processed and unprocessed red meats. |
To be on the safe side, the researchers advised eating no more than one serving of processed meat per week. And the findings shouldnt be interpreted as a free pass to eat steak or pork chops every night. Micha said, People should give more emphasis in increasing intake in their diet of foods that have been shown to be protective, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and nuts.TO LEARN MORE: Circulation, online before print; abstract at circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/ CIRCULATIONAHA.109.924977v1.