Eating Meat Thrice A Week Raises Heart Disease, Diabetes & Pneumonia Risk
The study discovered that people who regularly consumed unprocessed, as well as processed red meat, were at a higher risk of ischaemic heart disease, pneumonia, diverticular disease, diabetes and colon polyps.
In case you were a meat-eater and were wondering about switching to vegetarianism, but weren¡¯t motivated enough, this new study should help you make the push.
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A new study published in BMC Medicine has revealed that regular meat-eaters have a high risk of contracting an array of illnesses, especially with consumption of red and unprocessed meat with medical conditions like bowel cancer.
Researchers from the University of Oxford observed around 47,000 UK adults for hospital admissions for 25 common illnesses. The volunteers were asked to complete three surveys detailing their meat consumption habits over a span of eight years. They categorised a volunteer as a meat-eater if they consumed meat more than thrice a week.
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They found that these ¡®meat eaters¡¯ were essentially retired white European men or post-menopausal women, with most of them possessing a higher Body Mass Index or BMI and indulged in smoking and alcohol consumption. They also found them to consume less fibrous foods like vegetables and fruits and eat more poultry meat.
The study discovered that people who regularly consumed unprocessed, as well as processed red meat, were at a higher risk of ischaemic heart disease, pneumonia, diverticular disease, diabetes and colon polyps.
They found that adding 70 grams of red and processed meat intake every day were linked with a 15 percent higher risk of ischaemic heart disease and a 30 percent higher risk of diabetes.
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People who preferred consuming poultry meat saw a higher risk of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, duodenitis, gastritis as well as diabetes and gallbladder disease.
What was even more shocking is that high consumption of just unprocessed red meat was linked with a lower risk of iron deficiency anaemia.
Reuters
Keren Papier, the lead author of the study, explained, ¡° This research is the first to assess the risk of 25 non-cancerous health conditions in relation to meat intake in one study. Additional research is needed to evaluate whether the differences in risk we observed in relation to meat intake reflect causal relationships, and if so the extent to which these diseases could be prevented by decreasing meat consumption.¡±
She added, ¡°However, the link between meat consumption and a lower risk of iron-deficiency anaemia indicates that non-meat-eaters ¡°need to be careful that they obtain enough iron, through dietary sources or supplements. One good way to enhance the iron absorption of plant-based foods (like lentils) is to combine these foods with good sources of vitamin C (like peppers).¡±
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