Eat Less Red Meat To Prevent Heart Disease And Stroke!

People have been told not to consume too much red meat like beef, lamb and pork as it is bad for the health. Such claim is backed by many studies done in the past.

In 2011, a study by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Cleveland Clinic reported that frequent consumption of red meat appears to raise the risk of stroke significantly, while choosing to eat poultry and other proteins like fish or nuts, lowers the risk. Their findings were published online December 29, 2011 in journal ‘Stroke’. Men who ate more than 2 red meat servings daily had a 28 percent higher stroke risk than those who ate about one-third of a serving each day. People who ate the most chicken or turkey each day had a 13 percent reduced stroke risk than those who ate about 1 daily serving of red meat. The investigators also found that substituting other proteins, such as nuts or fish, for one daily serving of red meat reduced stroke risk.

A meta-analysis, which was published online September 24, 2012 also in journal ‘Stroke’, by researchers from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Poland, found that eating red meat including beef, pork, lamb, ham, hot dogs, sausage, and bacon may increase the risk of total stroke and ischemic stroke but not hemorrhagic stroke. Their analysis showed that every one-serving-per-day increase in fresh, processed, and total red meat intake was linked to an 11 percent to 13 percent relative increase in the risk of all strokes, driven by a raise in the risk of ischemic stroke.

Recent report published May 9, 2017 in BMJ journal pointed out that higher consumption of red meat may raise the risk of dying from various diseases that include cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, infections, kidney disease and liver disease. The diet and health of 536,969 men and women aged between 50 and 71 were studied for an average of 16 years. Compared with the one-fifth of people who ate the least red meat, the one-fifth who ate the most had a 26 percent increased risk of death from various causes. On the other hand, those who ate the highest proportion of white meat had a 25 percent reduced risk of dying from various causes compared with those who ate the least white meat.

There are several possible mechanisms to explain the findings. First of all, red meat is rich in saturated fat. Consumption of high levels of saturated fats could lead to a greater risk of stroke from higher levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Secondly, red meat also contains heme iron, and high doses of iron may lead to oxidative stress, a state with increased peroxidation of lipids, protein modification, and DNA damage. Oxidative stress induced by iron, if continued for a long time, may lead to development of many diseases, including heart disease, stroke, Type-2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, neurological disorders, and chronic inflammation.

Finally, processed red meat contains sodium and nitrite preservatives that may also increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other diseases.