Processed Meat Is Bad for Your Health, Study Finds

Processed Meat Is Bad for Your Health, Study Finds

Before you reach for that lunch meat to make a sandwich, keep reading. A European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study found that high processed meat consumption had an 18 percent greater risk of all-cause mortality. Published in BMC Medicine, the study analyzed data of over 500,000 men and women from 10 European countries ages 35 to 69 years old. According to the study, a total of 3.3 percent of deaths could be prevented if all participants ate less than 20 grams a day of processed meat.

The researchers found that the risk of cardiovascular death increased by over 70 percent for those who ate over 160 grams a day of processed meat compared to those who ate 10 to 19.9 grams a day. The risk of cancer death was 43 percent higher for those who consumed the most processed meats. The study concluded that the "results of our analysis support a moderate positive association between processed meat consumption and mortality, in particular, due to cardiovascular diseases, but also to cancer."

"Risks of dying earlier from cancer and cardiovascular disease also increased with the amount of processed meat eaten," SAID SABINE ROHRMANN, WHO LED THE STUDY.

Reduce your meat intake to help yourself and the environment

There is an interesting bit of information contained in the background portion of the study: Meat consumption has increased since World War II, mostly in the western world, but is increasing in developing countries, including China. That amount of meat consumption is unhealthy and bad for the environment. A UN Environment Program (UNEP) study published last month suggested that people in developed countries should cut their meat intake by half to avoid environmental damage.

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The UNEP warned: "Unless action is taken, increases in pollution and per capita consumption of energy and animal products will exacerbate nutrient losses, pollution levels, and land degradation, further threatening the quality of our water, air, and soils, affecting climate and biodiversity."

A 2006 report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects that global meat production will more than double in 2050. Livestock production contributes to climate change, the report details. Livestock accounts for nine percent of carbon dioxide derived from human-related activities. It also accounts for 65 percent of human-induced nitrous oxide, which has a warming potential 296 times greater than carbon, and 37 percent of all human-induced methane which has a warming potential 23 times greater than carbon.

There is something you can begin to do to reduce not only your intake of processed meat but of meat in general. Take the Meatless Monday pledge, and pledge to go meatless on Mondays. Your body and the environment will thank you.

Photo: USDAgov

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Andrea Donsky, RHN
Andrea Donsky, B. COMM is an international TV Health Expert, Best Selling Author, Nutritionist Podcast Host, and Founder of NaturallySavvy.com—a recipient of Healthline’s Best Healthy Living Blogs for 2019. As a pioneer and visionary in the health food industry, Andrea’s passion is to inspire people to make healthier choices. Andrea has combined her background and expertise as both a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and an entrepreneur ("She Boss!") to educate the public on living a healthy lifestyle through the creation of her businesses, books, articles, podcasts, videos, talks, and TV and radio media appearances. Andrea founded Naturally Savvy Media Inc. in 2007 in order to share her passion for healthy living, and love for natural products and companies. Among her numerous publications, Andrea co-authored Unjunk your Junk Food published by Simon and Schuster, a book that journalist, author and mother Maria Shriver endorsed: “Unjunk Your Junk Food has certainly made me more aware about the food that my children eat and the effects it has on our body and mind."</P. Andrea also co-authored two e-books entitled Label Lessons: Your Guide To A Healthy Shopping Cart, and Label Lessons: Unjunk Your Kid’s Lunch Box.