In a new study from the Queen Mary University of London, researchers found that greater intake of red and processed meat is associated with worse heart function.
Previous studies have shown links between greater red meat consumption and increased risk of heart attacks or death from heart disease.
In the study, the team examined the link between meat consumption and imaging measures of heart health.
The study included 19,408 participants of the UK Biobank. The researchers examined associations of self-reported intake of red and processed meat with heart anatomy and function.
The researchers found that a greater intake of red and processed meat was linked to worse imaging measures of heart health.
Specifically, people with higher meat intake had smaller ventricles, poorer heart function, and stiffer arteries—all markers of worse heart health.
As a comparison, the researchers also tested the links between heart imaging measures and intake of oily fish, which has previously been linked with better heart health.
They found that as the amount of oily fish consumption rose, heart function improved, and arteries were stretchier.
The findings support prior observations linking red and processed meat consumption with heart disease and provide unique insights into links with heart and vascular structure and function.
The team says it is possible that greater red meat intake leads to raised blood cholesterol and this, in turn, causes heart disease.
This study suggests that these four factors do play a role in the links between meat intake and heart health, but they are not the full story.
There is some evidence that red meat alters the gut microbiome, leading to higher levels of certain metabolites in the blood, which have in turn been linked to a greater risk of heart disease.
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The study was presented at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021. One author of the study is Dr. Zahra Raisi-Estabragh.
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