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by zoeysmithe 809 days ago
There's multiple studies, but here is a summary of the Harvard study:

https://ncdalliance.org/es/news-events/news/red-meat-increas...

A diet high in red meat can shorten life expectancy, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School. The study of more than 120,000 people suggested red meat increased the risk of death from cancer and heart problems.

Substituting red meat with fish, chicken or nuts lowered the risks, the authors said. The British Heart Foundation said red meat could still be eaten as part of a balanced diet.

The researchers analysed data from 37,698 men between 1986 and 2008 and 83,644 women between 1980 and 2008.

They said that during the study period, adding an extra portion of unprocessed red meat to someone's daily diet would increase the risk of death by 13%, of fatal cardiovascular disease by 18% and of cancer mortality by 10%. The figures for processed meat were higher, 20% for overall mortality, 21% for death from heart problems and 16% for cancer mortality.

The study, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, said: "We found that a higher intake of red meat was associated with a significantly elevated risk of total, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality.

More at the national cancer institute:

https://progressreport.cancer.gov/prevention/red_meat

2 comments

That study you cited is junk science which relied on low quality data and failed to control for key confounders. A more comprehensive review study in the same journal concluded as follows.

"The magnitude of association between red and processed meat consumption and all-cause mortality and adverse cardiometabolic outcomes is very small, and the evidence is of low certainty."

https://doi.org/10.7326/M19-0655

hmmm did they really not factor in other causes that people might be indulging in once they can afford red meat? or other habits https://bigthink.com/health/red-meat-cancer-not-health-risk/