By David Liu PHD

Sunday March 18, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Eating red meat may increase risk of total, cardiovascular, and cancer death while intake of other proteins such as fish,  poultry, nuts and legumes may cut the risk, according to a new study published online in Archives of Internal Medicine on March 12, 2012.

"Our study adds more evidence to the health risks of eating high amounts of red meat, which has been associated with type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers in other studies," said lead author An Pan.

Pan and colleagues at Harvard School of Public Health found one daily serving of unprocessed red meat (about the size of a deck of cards) was correlated with a 13 percent increased risk of premature death and one daily serving of processed red meat (one hot dog or two slices of bacon) was linked with a 20 percent increased risk.

The associations were based on analyses of data from 37,698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study who were followed up for up to 22 years and 83,644 women in the Nurses' Health Study who were followed up for up to 28 years.  All participants were free of cardiovascular disease( CVD) and cancer at the beginning of the study and their diets were surveyed every four years.

Specifically, men and women eating unprocessed red meat and processed red meat were 18 and 21 percent more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, respectively.  The risk of cancer death was increased by 10 and 16 percent, respectively.  Already considered in the analyses were chronic disease risk factors including age, physical activity, body mass index, family history of cardiovascular disease, and cancers.

Harvard School of Public Health stated in a press release that "Red meat, especially processed meat, contains ingredients that have been linked to increased risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. These include heme iron, saturated fat, sodium, nitrites, and certain carcinogens that are formed during cooking."

Eating one serving of fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low fat dairy products and whole grains in replacement of one serving of red meat was associated with 7%, 14%, 19%, 10%, 10% and 14% reduced risk of premature death, respectively.

The researchers estimated 9.3% of premature deaths in men and 7.6% in women could have been prevented during the follow-ups if all the participants had consumed less than 0.5 servings per day of red meat.

"This study provides clear evidence that regular consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, contributes substantially to premature death," said senior author Frank Hu. 

"On the other hand, choosing more healthful sources of protein in place of red meat can confer significant health benefits by reducing chronic disease morbidity and mortality."