New research from the National Cancer Institute analyzed data from a ten year study, finding that people who consume red meat and processed meats have a higher risk of dying from heart disease and cancer.

The study of more than half a million men and women adds to previous evidence of the health risks associated with red meat laden diets.

Over 10 years, the researchers analyzed individuals in a controlled study.  They found that men who consumed the equivalent to a large hamburger per day had a 31% increased risk and women who ate the same had a 36% increased risk of death in general. The risk of death caused by cancer specifically for men was 22%, and 20% in women. For heart disease, the risk of death for men was 27%, with a significant 50% in women. Processed meats increased these numbers slightly.

Contrastingly, those who consumed who consumed only white meats had an 8% decreased risk of death.

For the study, the meats under discussion were beef, pork, cold cuts, hot dogs, bacon and sausage. White meats were poultry and fish.

But the reasoning behind the percentage differences is still somewhat unknown. “We’re not completely sure but there is various different mechanisms that could be related such as the iron,” Dr. Rashmi Sinha from the National Cancer Institute told ABC. “Red meat has more iron and haemoglobin, myoglobin. It could be the type of fat and the amount of fat.”

Sinha also wasn’t sure if it was just the way it was cooked, or what additives were in the processed meats.

The findings appear in Archives of Internal Medicine.

Read the interview here at abc.net.au
Source: new.yahoo.com

Image courtesy of cosmosmagazine.com

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