The Western Diet places an emphasis on high fat and red meat consumption, which has influenced research on the influence of this diet on disease formation. Over the years, there have been conflicting opinions on whether or not eating meat can have adverse health effects. Red meat, specifically fatty or processed red meat, is a major source of medium to long saturated fatty acids (SFAs). More specifically, the specific dietary fats in red meat are broken down during the digestive process into SFAs that are then absorbed by the body and used as energy. In support of the opinions that eating meat can negatively impact one’s health, previous research has been published on how reducing the consumption of SFAs can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. To further explore the possible negative effect of SFAs, researchers from McMaster University recently finished a ten-year study investigating the influence of both processed and unprocessed meat on CVD development.
Processed meat can commonly be found in grocery stores and has been linked to increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
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The research team conducted the study with participants, ranging from ages 35-70 years from 21 different countries around the world (for a total of over 160,000 participants). Participants filled out questionnaires to record their dietary habits, providing information on the amounts of both processed and unprocessed meat consumed. Based on the data collected, the researchers then split the participants into different groups for every 50 grams of meat consumed per week. During the time of the study, the researchers also monitored any signs and emergence of CVD or major cardiovascular events (i.e. heart attack) along with the total mortality rate.
From this extensive study, the researchers determined that higher consumption of processed meat was associated with a higher risk of developing health issues, especially CVD or an increased mortality rate. It is important to note that the data did not result in statistically significant differences between the two groups and only showed a general trend. This means that there is a link between processed meat and CVD disease development; however, it cannot be stated that eating processed meat will definitively cause heart conditions to develop.
The results of this study further reinforce that more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between meat and heart diseases and how differences in dietary choices fully affect a person’s health. To help promote a well-balanced diet and lower the risk of CVD, limiting the consumption of processed meat or finding alternative protein sources could be the most beneficial way to implement the information from this study in the meantime.
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