Red and processed meat linked to increased risk of heart disease

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Coronary heart diseases lead to almost 9 million deaths each year across the globe, and yet it has remained unclear whether eating meat contributes to the risk of heart disease, and if this varies for different kinds of meat.

Two researchers from the Nuffield Department of Population Health undertook the largest systemic review of the evidence, including thirteen cohort studies involving over 1.4 million people. All the participants completed detailed dietary assessments, and their health was tracked for up to 30 years.

The results are published in Critical reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. Key findings include:

Each 50 g/day higher intake of processed meat (e.g. bacon, ham, and sausages) increased the risk of coronary heart disease by 18%.
Each 50 g/day higher intake of unprocessed red meat (such as beef, lamb and pork) increased the risk of coronary heart disease by 9%.
There was no clear link between eating poultry (such as chicken and turkey) and an increased risk of coronary heart disease.

Dr Keren Papier, co-lead author of the study, said:

Red and processed meat have been consistently linked with bowel cancer and our findings suggest an additional role in heart disease. Therefore, current recommendations to limit red and processed meat consumption may also assist with the prevention of coronary heart disease.

Dr Anika Knüppel, the other co-lead author of the study, added:

We know that meat production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and we need to reduce meat production and thereby consumption to benefit the environment. Our study shows that a reduction in red and processed meat intake would bring personal health benefits too.

This work was supported by the Wellcome as part of their Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) programme.

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Maddie Guerlain
Former Economic Policy Coordinator Maddie Guerlain has now left Sustain.

Maddie lead on Sustain's mission to ensure the sustainable food and farming sector is a priority within national policy and investment linked to UK-wide efforts to stimulate a green economic recovery. She also founded and managed Roots to Work, a platform for job opportunities in the field of good food.

Maddie has held a diversity of roles within Sustain since joining in 2015. Most recently she was the Communications and Learning Coordinator (maternity cover), leading Sustain’s communications strategy and delivery, as well as supporting campaigns and promoting the work of alliance members. She was also a member of the FoodSHIFT 2030 team, an EU project supporting innovative food systems across Europe as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on facilitating the exchange of knowledge and information between sector bodies and project participants.

She previously managed network communications and learning for UK food poverty alliances with Food Power (2017-2021) and developed the Food Learning Forum (2019-2021) for a cohort of leaders from the food sustainability sector. She has also coordinated a number of Sustain's London projects, including Capital Growth (2015-2017), Good Food for London (2017-2019) and Good Food Retail (2019-2021).

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