Keep your red meat within these limits to protect your brain health, experts say

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According to a new study, reducing your consumption of red meat could have many positive impacts: on your heart, on the environment and perhaps even on your long-term cognitive health.

Those who ate a quarter serving or more of processed red meats – such as bacon, bologna and hot dogs – were 13% more likely to develop dementia than those who ate less than a tenth serving per day , according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology.

A serving of red meat typically weighs about 3 ounces, which is the same as either two slices of bacon, 1.5 slices of bologna or a hot dog, according to a press release about the study.

Researchers also found that an additional daily serving of processed red meat on average was associated with a 1.6-year acceleration in brain aging, according to the study.

The study methods are observational, meaning researchers cannot say with certainty that processed red meats cause dementia, only that there is an association between the two. But investigation into this link will continue, said one of the study’s authors, Dr. Daniel Wang, an assistant professor in the department of nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

“Large-scale, long-term cohort studies are essential to study conditions such as dementia, which can develop over decades,” Wang said in a press release. “We continue to piece together this story to understand the mechanisms behind dementia and cognitive decline. »

Why the Meat You Eat Affects Your Brain

The link between red meat and cognitive health has not been studied extensively, but researchers have found associations with many other health conditions, including cardiometabolic disease, cancers and premature death, said the Dr. Mingyang Song, associate professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition at New York University. Harvard TH Chan School. He was not involved in the new research.

“In particular, processed red meat has the strongest association due to its high content of salt, heme iron and harmful additives used for processing,” Song said in an email.

For this study, researchers analyzed data from more than 133,000 people with an average age of 49 from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The data included detailed health information studied over a long period of time, including participants’ diets, and was updated every two to four years, according to the study.

More than 11,000 study participants were diagnosed with dementia over a 43-year period.

There are theories as to why red meat might pose a particular risk to cognitive health. Red meat contains a high amount of saturated fat and produces an organic compound linked to cardiovascular disease, and the two together can damage the nervous system, worsening cognitive decline, Song said.

“In addition, the inflammatory response and metabolic disturbances (e.g., insulin resistance) associated with high red meat consumption may also play a role,” he added in an email.

This latest study is important because it highlights how the food you eat affects how your brain ages, Wang said in the press release.

“Dietary guidelines tend to focus on reducing the risks of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, while cognitive health is less frequently discussed, although it is linked to these diseases,” she said. he declared. “We hope our results will encourage greater consideration of the link between diet and brain health.” »

Limit the red meat you eat

According to the study, reducing the amount of red meat you eat could be an important part of taking care of your long-term health.

According to the study, replacing red meat with plant-based protein sources such as nuts and legumes was associated with a 19% lower risk of dementia and a reduction of 1.37 years of cognitive aging.

The American Institute of Cancer Research recommends limiting your red meat intake to three servings per week and eating little or no processed red meat.

While making specific changes can improve your health, the overall quality of a person’s diet is the main priority, Song said in a previous CNN article.

If you want to reduce your intake and eat in a more nutrient-dense way, it may be time to look into the Mediterranean diet –– which is more of a lifestyle than a restrictive diet.

It focuses on eating fruits, vegetables, grains, olive oil, nuts and seeds, as well as the occasional piece of fish, while also focusing on social connections and physical activity.

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