Swapping one serving of processed red meat for nuts or legumes was associated with a 19% reduced risk of dementia.
A new study has found that those who eat more red meat, particularly processed red meat, may be at higher risk for dementia and cognitive decline compared to those who consume little to no red meat.
The findings build on prior evidence linking processed red meat consumption and dementia risk, which were presented in July 2024 at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia.
Processed red meat was defined as: hot dogs sausages salami bacon bologna other processed meat products A serving size was considered 3 ounces, which is roughly the size of a deck of cards.
Swapping a serving of processed red meat for fish had a 28% reduced risk of dementia, and swapping for chicken had a 16% lower risk of dementia.
cases of dementia in the United States. S. are anticipated to double by 2060, and a poor diet is thought to be one of the risk factors.
According to a new study, the risk of dementia and cognitive decline is 13 percent higher for those who consume more processed red meat.
A 19 percent lower risk of dementia was linked to replacing one serving of processed red meat with nuts or legumes.
By 2060, there will likely be one million dementia cases annually in the US, which is expected to double from the current number of new cases diagnosed each year.
Dementia risk is influenced by a number of factors, but there is evidence that diet may be one of them.
According to a recent study, people who consume more red meat—especially processed red meat—may be more susceptible to dementia and cognitive decline than people who eat little to no red meat.
The research expands on earlier findings from the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia in July 2024 that linked eating processed red meat to an increased risk of dementia. The most recent findings of this study were released in Neurology on January 15.
Senior author of the study and researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, as well as an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard, Dong Wang, MD, ScD, said in a press release, “Red meat is high in saturated fat and has been shown in previous studies to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which are both linked to reduced brain health.”.
The good news is that our study also found that substituting healthier foods like nuts, fish, and poultry for processed red meat may lower an individual’s risk of dementia and cognitive decline. “”.
Wang and associates recruited 133,771 participants for the study, with an average age of 49. At the start of the study, they did not suffer from dementia. The group was monitored for as long as forty-three years.
11,173 of the 133,771 research participants experienced dementia.
Participants were asked to maintain a food journal that included information on their food intake and frequency of consumption every two to four years.
In the study, unprocessed red meat was defined as either beef, lamb, pork, or hamburger. This is what was meant by processed red meat.
warm dogs.
sausages.
Salami.
bacon.
boligna.
additional prepared meat products.
A serving size of three ounces, or about the size of a deck of cards, was taken into consideration.
Age, sex, and other variables related to cognitive decline were taken into account by the researchers.
They came to the conclusion that individuals who consumed the most processed red meat were 13 percent more likely to develop dementia than their counterparts who consumed the least amount of meat.
Those who consumed, on average, less than half a serving of unprocessed meat daily did not have a different risk of dementia than those who consumed one or more servings daily.
When someone reports having memory or cognitive issues before any discernible decline is severe enough to appear on standard tests, this is known as subjective cognitive decline.
The researchers looked at over 43,000 individuals in the group, with an average age of 78, to gauge this.
During the study period, they completed two surveys to rate their own memory and thinking abilities.
The researchers discovered that individuals who consumed an average of 0–25 servings or more of processed red meat daily had a 14 percent higher risk of subjective cognitive decline than those who consumed an average of less than 0–10 servings per day, even after controlling for age, sex, and other risk factors.
The researchers recruited slightly more than 17,000 participants to take memory and thinking tests four times during the study period in order to assess the participants’ objective cognitive function. All of the participants were female, and the group’s average age was 74.
The brain’s ability to solve problems, remember, and think are referred to as objective cognitive functions.
The researchers found that, after controlling for age and sex, eating more processed red meat was linked to a faster rate of brain aging in the area of global cognition (overall cognitive ability) by 1 to 61 years for every additional serving of processed red meat consumed daily.
The verbal memory region aged by 69 years with every extra serving of processed red meat. Word and language memory is referred to as verbal memory.
The new study’s findings make sense, according to experts who were not involved.
That processed red meats can have a detrimental effect on brain health is not surprising. As a pediatric and adult neurologist at Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital Long Beach, CA, and MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, Jasmin Dao, MD, PhD, told Healthline that processed red meats are frequently high in fats, sodium, and sugars, all of which are already known to have negative effects on the body.
Our understanding of the link between diet and dementia is still developing. According to numerous studies, the foods we eat have a significant impact on the health of our brains. Eating a healthy diet has been linked to better cognitive processing. On the other hand, consuming more highly processed foods (such as those containing high fructose corn syrup or artificial coloring or additives) can harm brain cells, leading to dementia and cognitive decline, Dao added.
The study is the most recent in an increasing number of studies looking at the effects of eating red and processed red meats on one’s health.
Red meat, and particularly processed red meats, are known to be highly inflammatory, linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, and may also raise the risk of brain plaques linked to dementia and/or cognitive decline, according to Dana Hunnes, PhD, a senior dietitian at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, who spoke to Healthline.
Another connection exists between trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and its correlation with a higher risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (Trusted Source). Because processed red meats contain more sodium, they raise blood pressure, lower cerebral perfusion, which lowers blood flow to the brain, and may cause vascular dementia. Hunnes continued, “I’m not surprised at all, considering these previously established associations.”.
In addition to a 19 percent lower risk of dementia, the researchers discovered that replacing one serving of processed red meat per day with a serving of legumes or nuts was linked to a reduction of 1 point37 years in cognitive aging.
The risk of dementia was lowered by 28% when a serving of processed red meat was substituted with fish and by 16% when chicken was substituted.
The Alzheimer’s Association’s senior vice president of medical and scientific relations, Heather M. Snyder, PhD, told Healthline that balance is key to a diet that supports cognitive health. Snyder did not participate in the research.
Because they have been linked to a lower risk of cognitive decline, we have long advocated eating a balanced diet that includes less processed foods to make sure our bodies get the nutrients they need. We might find additional dietary patterns that raise or lower our risk as research progresses,” Snyder stated.
“No single food or ingredient has been proven through thorough scientific research to cause, increase risk, prevent, treat, or cure Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. A disease as complicated as Alzheimer’s is unlikely to be significantly improved or worsened by a single food, she added.
According to Associate Professor Michael Woodward, MD, head of Aged Care Research and the Memory Clinic at Austin Health in Melbourne, Australia, and an honorary medical advisor for Dementia Australia, diet plays a significant role in cognitive health, but red meat is only one piece of the dementia risk puzzle, he told Healthline. Woodward did not participate in the study either.
“Diet is unquestionably protective against cognitive decline, and eating poorly increases your risk.”. Additionally, weight can be linked to both exercise and diet, Woodward said.
“One risk factor is being overweight. A Mediterranean diet high in vegetables, fish, legumes, nuts, and preferably white meat (like chicken or fish) is essential if you want to lower your risk of cognitive decline. Olive oil is also your preferred oil. “There is no doubt that the Mediterranean diet is advantageous,” he said.
“Everyone ought to assess how well their current diet fits into the Mediterranean diet. Naturally, a Mediterranean diet allows for some red meat, but if you’re eating a lot of meat along with a lot of fat and starch, you might want to consider cutting back. To lower the risk of cognitive decline, I wouldn’t advise people to automatically cut out red meat from their diet. We don’t seem to have enough information for that. Woodward came to the conclusion that we should consider brain health in general rather than just red meat consumption.