Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health followed over 110,000 people for over 20 years and found that red meat consumption—of any type and any amount—is associated with extremely high risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease. The findings also showed that eating even three ounces of red meat per day upped subjects’ risk of death during that 20-year period by 13 percent. Eating one serving per day of processed meat, like hot dogs or bacon, raised the risk by 20 percent. “Any red meat you eat contributes to the risk,” said An Pan, a postdoctoral fellow and lead author of the study.
After crunching data from the questionnaires used, researchers discovered that replacing red meat with other foods is a viable option for reducing the mortality risk. Pan believes that at the end of the day, eating any amount of red meat is bad for you. “If you want to eat red meat, eat the unprocessed products, and reduce it to two or three servings a week. That would have a huge impact on public health,” he said.
Will this news impact our dietary habits, or will people just continue to feel that eating red meat is worth the risk?
