Scientists from Soochow University and elsewhere found that replacing red meat with other protein sources may prevent heart disease and early death.
Red meat is commonly red when raw and has a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking.
Research has shown that regularly eating red meat and processed meat can raise the risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers, especially colorectal cancer.
A high amount of red meat intake has been linked to higher risks of coronary heart disease and all-cause death.
In the current study, researchers aimed to quantify the risks of heart disease and all-cause death associated with the replacement of total, unprocessed, or processed red meat with fish/seafood, poultry, dairy, eggs, nuts, and legumes.
They reviewed results from 13 relevant published studies.
The researchers found replacing total red meat with poultry, eggs, nuts, or legumes was linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
Substituting fish/seafood for total red meat was not linked to the risk of heart disease.
The replacement of total red meat with fish/seafood, poultry, eggs, or nuts was linked to a lower risk of all-cause death.
But the substitution of dairy or legumes for total red meat was not linked to the risk of all-cause death.
Lower risks of heart disease and all-cause death were more consistently found for processed red meat replacements than for unprocessed red meat replacements.
The results did not change when the analyses of the total, processed, and unprocessed red meat were restricted to the studies that used a uniform substitution amount per unit of 1 serving/d.
Based on the findings, researchers suggest that keeping red meat, particularly processed red meat, consumption to a minimum along with increasing healthier alternative protein sources to replace red meat in the diet may help prevent heart disease and premature death.
The research was published in Nutrition Review and conducted by Khemayanto Hidayat et al.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that apple juice could benefit your heart health, and Yogurt may help lower the death risks of heart disease.
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