Interesting study

Some of you may of heard about the new study that was conducted by the National Cancer Institute and released by the Achives of Internal Medicine claims that red meat consumption shortens a person's life spans.

Diets high in red meat and in processed meat shorten life span not just from cancer and heart disease but from Alzheimer's, stomach ulcers and an array of other conditions as well. In fact, reducing meat consumption to the amount eaten by the bottom 20% seen in the study would save 11% of men's lives and 16% of women's, according to the study.

Last year, U.S. National Cancer Institute researchers reported that a quarter-pound hamburger or a small pork chop eaten daily could put you at increased risk for a variety of cancers. The message from the latest study echoes that finding: The more red meat and processed meat you eat, the greater your risk for dying of cancer.

Men and women eating the highest amount of red meat were found to have a 31% and 36%, respectively, higher risk of dying from any cause than those eating the least amount.

Women eating the most processed meat were 25% more likely to die early than those eating the least of this type of meat, while men had a 16% increased risk, the study found.

Causes of death for those in the study included diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, ulcers, pneumonia, influenza, liver disease, HIV, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and more.

Dying from cancer also was more likely among those eating the most red meat: 22% higher for men, 20% for women. The risk for death from cancer increased 12% for men and 11% for women who ate the greatest amount of processed meat.

Similarly, the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was higher by 27% for men and 50% for women; for processed red meat, the risk was 9% higher for men and 38% higher for women.

However, people who ate the most white meat showed a lower risk of dying.

Meat contains many carcinogens as well as saturated fat, which might explain the increased mortality risk.

The study looked at what more than a half-million people, ages 50 to 71, were eating over the span of a decade. Participants tended to be white and educated with fewer smokers and more vegetable-and-fruit eaters than in the general population. During that time, more than 71,000 people died. It concluded that people who eat less red meat have fewer chronic disease issues and longer life spans.

Just something to think about...