Red Meat Increases Risk of Death According to Study
A new study published states that significantly reducing or avoiding red meat will lower your risk of dying prematurely.
The research was conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health. Researchers compiled more than 30 years of data on more than 110,000 men and women. It was published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The results showed that people who eat one serving of red meat per day increased their risk of dying by 12 percent.
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"Any red meat you eat contributes to the risk," said An Pan, lead author and postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.
It was also shown that consuming alternative sources of protein such as fish, poultry, or nuts can lower the risk of death by as much as 20 percent.
"We don't have to jump off a cliff," Pan said. "But if you can decrease your red meat consumption by as little as one serving a day, you can decrease your risk of death between 7 and 19 percent."
Pan continued: "And if you consume less than half a serving of red meat per day that showed a 10 percent decrease in death across the board."
Carol Koprowski, who is a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, was not involved directly with the study, but stated that it could be hard to draw certain conclusions using this particular research method.
Koprowski explains that there could be a reporting error when subjects give food information concerned with food frequency questionnaires, according to ABC.
Those particular research tools are based on a subject's memory in relation to the consumption of past meals.
However, Pan states that no amount of red meat is good for you, while moderation is the key if an individual chooses to eat red meat.
"If you want to eat red meat, eat the unprocessed products, and reduce it to two or three servings a week. That would have a huge impact on public health," Pan said.
