Eating processed red meat, like bacon and sausages, is linked to a 16% higher dementia risk. This alarming finding highlights the importance of dietary choices in protecting cognitive function as we age.

N=133,000 over 40 year time period

Observational study so limitations may apply but the findings do hold after adjusting for a large list of factors I will quote here:

educational attainments, family history of dementia, menopausal status with hormone use status, total energy intake, regular antidepressant drug use, history of depression, BMI, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, neighborhood SES [socioeconomic status], marital status, living arrangement, smoking status, histories of hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia and intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and legumes, low-fat dairy products, high-fat dairy products, and alcohol

    • Valmond@lemmy.world
      14·
      1 month ago

      At old age meat eaters have more muscle mass (left), and that’s a big deal too.

      Don’t go extremist over some obscure paper is all I’m saying. We should all eat less meat BTW especially red.

  • solarvector@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    85·
    1 month ago

    Hmmm, I wonder if they’re conflating processed foods and red meat again?

    Yep:

    Eating processed red meat (such as sausages, bacon, hotdogs and salami) was linked to a 16% higher risk of dementia and a faster rate of cognitive ageing. Eating about two servings of processed red meat a week raised the risk of dementia by 14% compared with those who ate less than about three servings a month. (A serving is a piece of meat roughly the size of a deck of playing cards – around 85g.)

    If people substituted processed red meat protein for that found in nuts, tofu or beans, they could reduce their dementia risk by 19%, the study found.

    A review of studies, published in 2023, found that people who ate lots of ultra-processed foods (of all kinds – not just processed meats) had a 44% higher risk of dementia

    • usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.mlOP
      152·
      1 month ago

      No, they also found associations with unprocessed red meats too

      Unprocessed red meat intake of ≥1.00 serving per day, compared with <0.50 serving per day, was associated with a 16% higher risk of SCD [subjective cognitive decline] (RR 1.16; 95% CI 1.03–1.30; plinearity = 0.04).

  • chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    21·
    1 month ago

    My reason for cutting red meat out of my diet was that it’s expensive, glad there’s other reasons it’s a good choice too

  • LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world
    1·
    1 month ago

    Kinda glad my body decided to just stop digesting beef a few years ago. I’m learning so much about what I can be potentially avoiding by not being able to consume it. Beef just sits in my stomach for an absurdly long time. So I don’t eat it. I have mostly fish as my animal protein, but substitute with plant based proteins and sometimes chicken to avoid too much mercury. I eat pork on occasion but it isn’t my favorite. I tried going vegetarian and vegan a couple of times and my already poor health declined. Now I do whatever it is that I do lol. I just eat what I like and what I know is good for my specific health conditions.

  • marcie (she/her)@lemmy.ml
    35·
    1 month ago

    I would wager its not because of the meat but because microplastic contamination is much higher in processed food, especially meats. People are often eating the maximum dosage for plastics in a year in one meal. Its very hard to avoid. Microplastic contamination is highly correlated to dementia.

    • usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.mlOP
      5·
      1 month ago

      They also found associations with unprocessed red meats too

      Unprocessed red meat intake of ≥1.00 serving per day, compared with <0.50 serving per day, was associated with a 16% higher risk of SCD [subjective cognitive decline] (RR 1.16; 95% CI 1.03–1.30; plinearity = 0.04).