By David Liu, Ph.D.

Sunday Aug 14, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- Eating processed meat may boost risk of stroke in men, a study in the Aug 2011 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests.

The study showed the risk of total stroke was 23 percent higher in men who had highest intakes of processed meat, compared to the those with lowest.

But the association between fresh red meat and stroke risk was not significant.

For the study, S.C. Larsson and colleagues of Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden followed 40,291 men aged 45 to 79 who had no history of heart disease, stroke and cancer at baseline.

During the 10-year follow-up, 2409 cases of stroke including 1,849 cerebral infarctions, 350 hemorrhagic strokes and 210 unknown types of strokes were identified from a national hospital discharge registry.

The researchers also found men who had highest intakes of processed meat were 18 percent more likely to suffer cerebral infarction, compared with those who had lowest intakes.

Larsson et al. concluded "The findings from this prospective cohort of men indicate that processed meat consumption is positively associated with risk of stroke."

Processed food like sausages, hot dogs, ham, and bacon contain preservatives such as nitrite and nitrate, which can result in the formation of nitrosamines - a group of cancer-causing agents.

Nitrosamines have been linked to Alzheimer's disease among other things.  

Drinking fruit juices high in vitamin C may help reduce the formation of the cancer-causing agents.

Another study led by the same group of researchers also found eating highest amounts of red meat and processed meat was linked with 22 percent and 24 percent increased risk of cerebral infarction in women, respectively.

They also found consumption of total red meat and processed meat was associated with a significant increase in the risk of cerebral infarction, but not of total stroke and other types of stroke.

Fresh meat consumption was not correlated with total stroke or any type of stroke in women.

This study was published in the Feb 2011 issue of Stroke.

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