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EATING processed meat, such as bacon, sausage, or processed deli meats, led to a 42 per cent higher risk of heart disease and a 19 per cent higher risk of type 2 diabetes, a study* by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found. In contrast, the researchers did not find any higher risk of heart disease or diabetes among individuals eating unprocessed red meat, such as from beef, pork, or lamb. Unlike previous studies, this differentiated between processed and unprocessed (red) meat. This work, which appeared in the 17th May online edition of the journal Circulation, is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the worldwide evidence for how eating unprocessed red meat and processed meat relates to risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. "Although most dietary guidelines recommend reducing meat consumption, prior individual studies have shown mixed results for relationships between meat consumption and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes," said Renata Micha, a research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH and lead author of the study. "Most prior studies also did not separately consider the health effects of eating unprocessed red versus processed meats." The researchers, led by Dr Micha and colleagues Dariush Mozaffarian, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology, and Sarah Wallace, junior research fellow in the HSPH Department of Epidemiology, systematically reviewed nearly 1,600 studies. Twenty relevant studies were identified, which included more than 1.2 million individuals from 10 countries on four continents (United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia). The researchers defined unprocessed red meat as any unprocessed beef, lamb, or pork, excluding poultry. Processed meat was defined as any meat preserved by smoking, curing, or salting, or with the addition of chemical preservatives, such as bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs, or processed deli or luncheon meats. Vegetable or seafood protein sources were not evaluated in these studies. The results showed that, on average, each 50-gram daily serving of processed meat (about one to two slices of deli meats or one hot dog) was associated with a 42 per cent higher risk of developing heart disease and a 19 per cent higher risk of developing diabetes. In contrast, eating unprocessed red meat was not associated with risk of developing heart disease or diabetes. Too few studies evaluated the relationship between eating meat and risk of stroke to enable the researchers to draw any conclusions. "Although cause-and-effect cannot be proven by these types of long-term observational studies, all of these studies adjusted for other risk factors, which may have been different between people who were eating more versus less meats," said Dr Mozaffarian. "Also, the lifestyle factors associated with eating unprocessed red meats and processed meats were similar, but only processed meats were linked to higher risk." Preservatives may explain higher risk
"When we looked at average nutrients in unprocessed red and processed meats eaten in the United States, we found that they contained similar average amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. In contrast, processed meats contained, on average, four times more sodium and 50 per cent more nitrate preservatives," said Dr Micha. Eating unprocessed red meat was not associated with risk of developing heart disease or diabetes "This suggests that differences in salt and preservatives, rather than fats, might explain the higher risk of heart disease and diabetes seen with processed meats, but not with unprocessed red meats." These results highlight the need for better understanding of potential mechanisms of effects and for particular focus on processed meats for dietary and policy recommendations, the rNike