Smart Protein Choices May Lower Risks of Death

Meat is a major source of dietary protein, but researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (Massachusetts, USA) urge consumers to make smart choices to lower their risks of all-cause mortality as well as death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.  An Pan and colleagues analyzed data two large-scale studies with repeated measures of diet and up to 28 years of follow-up. Utilizing data collected on 37,698 men and 83,644 women, the team documented 23,926 deaths, including 5,910 from cardiovascular disease and 9,464 from cancer. They found that a higher intake of red meat was associated with a significantly elevated risk of total, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality, and this association was observed for unprocessed and processed red meat, with a relatively greater risk for processed red meat.  The elevated risk of total mortality in for a one-serving-per-day increase was 12% for total red meat, 13% for unprocessed red meat and 20% for processed red meat.  However, the researchers found that replacing one serving daily of total red meat with one serving of fish lowered the death risk by 7%, poultry by 14%, nuts by 19%, legumes by 10%, low-fat dairy products by 10%, and whole grains by 14%. Extrapolating the reductions in risk of death, the study authors estimate that 9.3% of total deaths in men and 7.6%  in women could be prevented if all the participants consumed fewer than 0.5 servings per day of total red meat.