In a new study, researchers reviewed the evidence and have recommended that most adults should continue to eat their current levels of red and processed meat.
The research was conducted by an international team led by Dalhousie and McMaster universities.
The researchers performed four systematic reviews focused on studies looking at the impact of red meat and processed meat on heart health, diabetes, and cancer outcomes.
In one review of 12 studies with 54,000 people, the researchers did not find an important association between meat consumption and the risk of heart disease, diabetes or cancer.
In three systematic reviews of cohort studies following millions of people, a very small reduction in risk among those who had three fewer servings of red or processed meat a week, but the association was uncertain.
The team also did a fifth systematic review looking at people’s attitudes and health-related values around eating red and processed meats.
They found people eat meat because they see it as healthy, they like the taste and they are reluctant to change their diet.
These findings are contrary to many current nutritional guidelines. But the team says their research is not just another study on red and processed meat.
It is a series of high-quality systematic reviews resulting in recommendations they think are far more transparent, robust and reliable.
The team says this is a worldwide interest in nutrition and the issue of red meat in particular. People need to be able to make decisions about their own diet based on the best information available.
Other researchers involved in the work included those from the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, and the guideline committee included lay people as well as the scientists. There were no primary external funding sources.
The lead author of the study is Bradley Johnston, Ph.D.
The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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