Drop the steak knife: Unprocessed red meat and processed meat consumption leads to a slightly higher risk of heart disease and premature death, according to a new study from researchers at Cornell and Northwestern University.
Their paper, Associations of Processed Meat, Unprocessed Red Meat, Poultry or Fish Intake With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality, was published Feb. 3 in JAMA Internal Medicine. The lead author is Victor Zhong, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell.
The study found that eating two servings per week of unprocessed red meat, processed meat or poultry was linked to a 3% to 7% higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Eating two servings per week of unprocessed red meat or processed meat was associated with a 3% higher risk of all causes of death.
“Modifying intake of these animal protein foods may be an important dietary strategy to help reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death at population level,” Zhong said.
“It’s a small difference, but it’s worth trying to reduce [consumption of] red meat and processed meat,” said senior author Norrina Allen, associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “Red meat consumption is also consistently linked to other health problems like cancer.”
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