The findings of a recent global study conducted by scientists in Hamilton found a link between a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and the consumption of processed meat. However, the same study did not find the same connection with red meat or unprocessed poultry.
The information comes from the diets and health outcomes of 1,34,297 people from 21 countries on five continents, who were tracked by researchers for data on meat consumption and cardiovascular disease.
After tracking participants for nearly a decade, the researchers found that eating 150 grams or more of processed meat per week was associated with a 46% higher risk of cardiovascular disease and a 51% higher risk of cardiovascular disease. a higher risk of death than those who did not eat any meat processing.
However, the researchers also found that moderate levels of raw meat consumption had a neutral effect on health.
“Evidence of an association between meat intake and cardiovascular disease is inconsistent. Therefore, we wanted to better understand the associations between intakes of unprocessed red meat, poultry and processed meat with major cardiovascular disease and mortality events,” Romaina said. Iqbal, first author of the study and associate professor at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan.
“All available data indicate that eating a small amount of unprocessed meat as part of a healthy diet is unlikely to be harmful,” said Mahshid Dehghan, an investigator at McMaster University’s Institute for Population Health Research (PHRI) and Hamilton Health Sciences.
The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study was launched in 2003 and is the first multinational study to provide information on the association between unprocessed and processed meat intakes with health outcomes in low-, middle- and high-income countries.
“The PURE study examines more diverse populations and broad dietary patterns, allowing us to provide new evidence to distinguish between the effects of processed and unprocessed meat,” said lead author Salim Yusuf, PHRI’s executive director.
Participants’ dietary habits were recorded using food frequency questionnaires, while data were also collected on their mortality and major cardiovascular disease events. This allowed researchers to determine the associations between meat consumption patterns and cardiovascular disease events and mortality.
The authors believe that further research may improve the current understanding of the relationship between meat consumption and health outcomes. For example, it is not clear which study participants with lower meat intakes ate meat instead and whether the quality of these foods differs from country to country.
Meat-free food substitutes may have implications for the subsequent interpretation of the associations between meat consumption and health outcomes. However, the study’s authors believe that their findings “indicate that limiting the consumption of processed meat should be encouraged”.
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