Nutritional Pearls: Eating Too Much Red Meat May Increase Cancer, Death Risk

If you have spent your life as an omnivore—that is, eating land-animal proteins such as beef and pork (red meat), and poultry such as chicken and turkey (white meat), along with perhaps fish and shellfish­­—then the news that red meat is not great for you might hit a little too close to home.

There are those in the health and nutrition field who would like you to believe that the only healthy diet is a vegan diet.

The Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the folks behind the slogan "Beef. It's what's for dinner," and the National Pork Board, with the slogan "the other white meat," would like you to believe otherwise.

However, the truth for most people is somewhere in between.

There are people who will make the switch to a vegan diet and will stick to that style of eating for the long term. It requires a serious commitment and a person changes nearly everything they eat, including breakfast, snacks, and what to eat if they eat out.

Although, many people are far more likely to fall on "the enemy of better is perfect" side of things when faced with their physician's edict to switch to a vegan diet, which could be very different from their usual diet. They'll give up on changing their diet at all.

The good news is that giving up red meat does not mean giving up all land-animal protein. For example, a Mediterranean-style diet allows for a weekly average of fewer than 4 ounces of land-animal protein (both red and white meat) per day for men and 3 1/4 ounces for women.

But does switching from red meat, whether processed or unprocessed, to another animal protein really make that much of a difference?

The Research

In a study recently published in the British Journal of Nutrition,¹ a team of Dutch researchers analyzed dietary data from a prospective study to assess the participants' risk of death from cancer or heart disease, while modeling what might happen if a participant substituted poultry or fish for an equivalent amount of red meat.

The prospective study is known as the Diet, Cancer and Health Study and began its recruitment in the Copenhagen area in 1993. Just more than 57,000 men and women between 50 to 64 years of age responded to a dietary questionnaire with 63 different questions, which covered meat intake of all types. They also responded to demographic and lifestyle questionnaires, as well as provided health information.

For this analysis, participants who reported having cancer, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol scores, or diabetes were excluded from the analysis, which ended in 2015. Using access to the Danish National Patient Register and the Cause of Death Register, the researchers were able to review the cause of death for all participants who passed away over the course of the study, which allowed them to compare those deceased participants' diets with those who were still alive at the end of the study.

When the authors substituted a single 150-gram serving (about 3.5 ounces) of fish or poultry for the same amount of red meat in a participant's diet, was there all that much of a difference in risk of death?

The Results

Yes and no. The greatest difference was in the overall risk of death from any cause and in the risk of death from cancer when fish was substituted for processed meats such as sausage or smoked meats, such as bacon. How much of a difference? About 9% at best. Substituting poultry for processed red meat? About the same.

What about fish or poultry for unprocessed red meat? Once again, the risk was slightly reduced, but not to a clinically significant degree.

What’s the Take Home

The take-home message here is that multiple small dietary changes—like choosing fish or poultry in place of a serving of red meat—can add up to a much healthier diet overall. Yes, processed meats, whether beef, pork, or otherwise, aren't good for you, so if you must have them, save them for a treat. But you can enjoy your fish, shellfish, and poultry in moderation without guilt.

Reference:

1. Nielsen TB, Würtz AML, Tjønneland A, Overvad K, Dahm CC. Substitution of unprocessed and processed red meat with poultry or fish and total and cause-specific mortality. Br J Nutr. 2021;127(4):563-569. doi:10.1017/S0007114521001252

Dr. Gourmet is the definitive health and nutrition web resource for both physicians and patients with evidence-based resources including special diets for coumadin users, patients with GERD/acid reflux, celiac disease, type 2 diabetes, low sodium diets (1500 mg/d), and lactose intolerance. 

Timothy S. Harlan, MD, is a board-certified internist and professional chef who translates the Mediterranean diet for the American kitchen with familiar, healthy recipes. He is an assistant dean for clinical services, executive director of The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine and associate professor of medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans.