Red Meat Will Send You To An Early Grave Say Scientists

if people wanted to live longer they should eat less red meat and processed meat

A controversial new study which examined the link between eating red meat and your likelihood of dying early has been released in America. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute who authored the study said that this was the most extensive research project to look at whether eating pork and beef would send you to an early grave.

Over 500,000 medical records of middle aged and older American citizens were examined and it was seen that those who ate 4oz of red meat a day had a 30% increased likelihood of dying over the ten year period that their health was documented. Most of the deaths occurred from heart disease or cancer. Those men and women who ate processed meats, cold cuts and sausages also had a significantly increased risk of death.

While other studies have shown a link between red meat and higher rates of heart disease and cancer this study is definitely the most comprehensive and far reaching one. Barry M. Popkin, Professor of global nutrition at the University of North Carolina said of the study which was written up in the Archives of Internal Medicine that it was unique because of its size and because of the time that the participants were followed for. He said that if people wanted to live longer they should eat less red meat and processed meat. It was also noted that eating larger amounts of turkey, chicken and fish reduced the likelihood of early death slightly.

However not everybody agrees with the scientists and The American Meat Institute which promotes the eating of meat said that the findings were unreliable because they had been based on self-reporting by the study volunteers. James H. Hodges speaking on behalf of the institute said that red meat could be part of a healthy balanced diet and studies had shown that they because of the feeling of fullness that eating meat brings it could help with weight control.

The researchers said that they did take into account other variables which could have influenced the results such as smoking and whether the participants did any regular exercise but the results clearly showed that those who ate the most red meat were the most likely to die prematurely.