Study: Eating heavy red meat tied to higher risk of early death

Increasing red meat consumption, particularly processed red meat, is associated with a higher risk of death, researchers warned. A study published in the journal BMJ shows that replacing red meat with other protein sources, such as eggs and fish, whole grains and vegetables, over time may help you live longer.

For the study, a team of researchers from Harvard University looked at the link between changes in red meat consumption over an eight-year period with mortality rate during the next eight years, starting from 1986 to the end of follow-up in 2010.

They used data for 53,553 US registered female nurses, aged between 30 and 55, and 27,916 male health professionals in the US, aged between 40 and 75, who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at the start of the study.

Every four years the participants were given a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) where they were asked how often, on an average, they ate each food of standard portion size in the past year. They were then divided into five categories based on their changes in red meat intake.

TAGS : study, eating heavy red meat tied to higher risk of early death, eating heavy red meat increases risk of diseases and can cause death, cancer, cardiovascular, disease, cardiovascular diseases, cardiovascular, health, health care, ifairer