Replacing one serving of red meat per day w/ low-fat dairy lowers risk of death by 10% over 22 years

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018 8:00 am Email this article
Replacing one serving of red meat per day with one serving of low-fat dairy would reduce the risk of death by an estimated 10% over 22 to 28 years according to two studies analyzed by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Processed and Unprocessed Meats, and Serving Size

Processed and unprocessed meats, and serving size defined

“Questionnaire items about unprocessed red meat consumption included ‘beef, pork, or lamb as main dish’ (pork was queried separately beginning in 1990), ‘hamburger,’ and ‘beef, pork, or lamb as a sandwich or mixed dish.’”

The standard serving size was 85 g (3 oz) for unprocessed red meat.

“Processed red meat included “bacon” (2 slices, 13 [grams]), “hot dogs” (one, 45 [grams]), and “sausage, salami, bologna, and other processed red meats” (1 piece, 28 [grams] [one ounce]).”

Conclusion

Conclusion: Red meat increases the risk of dying for cancer, cardiovascular disease and the total risk of dying

“In conclusion, we found that greater consumption of unprocessed and processed red meats is associated with higher mortality risk,” the paper concludes.

“Compared with red meat, other dietary components, such as fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains, were associated with lower risk.

“These results indicate that replacement of red meat with alternative healthy dietary components may lower the mortality risk.”

REFERENCE

Pan A, Sun Q, Bernstein A, Schulze M, Manson J, Stampfer M, Willett W, Hu F. Red meat consumption and mortality : Results from 2 prospective cohort studies. Arch Intern Med. 2012 Mar 12, published on-line first.

The paper is posted here.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD
Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology
Harvard School of Public Health
655 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
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