Diets rich in red meat can result in increases in total mortality
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Posted on Mar 25, 2009, 8 a.m.
By gary clark
Previous studies have found that diets rich in red meat increase the incidence of cancer. However, a U.S. National Cancer Institute study suggests that such a diet also shortens life span due to other conditions, including Alzheimer's and stomach ulcers.
The U.S. National Cancer Institute conducted a study on the effects of meat consumption on mortality. The study population included the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort of half a million people between the ages of 50 and 71. Meat intake was estimated from a food frequency questionnaire administered at baseline.
According to the study, which was published in the March 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, reducing meat consumption to the amount eaten by the bottom 20 percent in the study would save 11 percent of men's lives and 16 percent of women's. The study concluded that consumption of red meat was associated with a modest increase in total mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality. "This fits together with the findings of the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Cancer Society, which recommend limiting the consumption of red meat," states Rashmi Sinha, lead author of the study and a senior investigator with the nutrition epidemiological branch in the cancer epidemiology and genetics division at the Cancer Institute. "This is something new in the sense of mortality."
Previous studies have linked red meat consumption with a higher incidence of cancer. For example, last year, researchers from the U.S. National Cancer Institute reported that a quarter-pound hamburger or a small pork chop eaten daily could put you at increased risk for a variety of cancers. This study, however finds that red meat shortens life span not just from cancer and heart disease, but from Alzheimer's disease, stomach ulcers and a variety of other conditions.
However, the American Meat Institute reiterated that meat is an outstanding source of several essential vitamins and minerals, including zinc, iron and B12. A statement released by the Institute said: "U.S. Dietary Guidelines say to eat a balanced diet that includes lean meat. In this way, you derive a wide array of nutrients from many different sources. It's the best return on a nutritional investment you can get."
News Release: Eating too much red meat may shorten life www.abcnews.go.com March 23, 2009
