Eating red meat has been linked with increased risk of a number of health concerns, including colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease. But new researcher has found that regularly eating red meat—especially processed meats, like bacon, salami, and hot dogs (which, I have to confess, are the only red meat I eat) increases the risk of premature death.
The study, conducted by researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health found that each daily serving (about 3 ounces—roughly what would fit in the palm of your hand) increased the risk of death by 13 percent. Each daily serving of processed meats increased the risk by 20 percent.
The bottom line? Eating less than 1 ½ ounces of red meat per day could have prevented one in 10 of the premature deaths. Getting rid of the red meat entirely—and replacing it with other, healthier protein sources—reduced the risk of premature death even further. The healthiest substitute was nuts, followed by poultry and fish.
While it would be great to completely cut red meat out of your diet, we recognize that that’s just not going to be possible for everyone. But you can ease into it. Next time it’s your turn to order, going for a turkey burger instead of your usual medium rare top sirloin burger could very well save your life.
Another option is to cut meat out of your diet for one day every week. Meatless Monday is a popular initiative and it helps you ‘try’ out a healthy vegetarian lifestyle without actually giving up on meat indefinitely.
More details on this story here.
