Eating Red Meat May Raise Dementia Risk by 13 Percent: Study Finds
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A new study has found that eating greater quantities of red meat, especially in processed forms, increased risk for dementia. Results, published online in Neurology, highlight that replacing processed red meat with protein sources like nuts and legumes or fish may decrease dementia risk by approximately 20 percent.
Among 133,771 individuals included in this study with an average age of 49 years at baseline, 11,173 were diagnosed with dementia up to 43 years later.
A typical serving of red meat is 3 ounces — approximately the size of a bar of soap. Those eating a daily average of one-quarter or more of a serving of processed red meats, compared to those consuming a minimal amount, had a 13 percent higher risk of developing dementia, adjusting for numerous clinical, demographic and lifestyle factors such as socioeconomic status and family history of dementia.
The researchers measured objective cognitive function using standard cognitive assessments. They found that this measure was also worse among those with greater processed meat consumption, with cognitive aging accelerated by approximately 1.6 years per average daily serving.
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