https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-meat-stroke-risk/red-meat-linked-to-increased-stroke-risk-idUSKBN0TE2IA20151125
(Reuters
Health) - Red meat – but not other types of protein - is linked to an
increased stroke risk, and the odds go up the more meat people eat, a
recent study suggests.
Researchers
analyzed data on about 11,000 middle-aged people who didn’t have other
risk factors for strokes such as diabetes or heart disease, and followed
half of them for around 23 years.
The people in the
study who consumed the most red meat had a 47 percent higher risk of
ischemic stroke – caused by blockages in blood vessels supplying the
brain - than those who typically ate the smallest amount of red meat.
Protein from poultry, seafood or vegetable sources like nuts and legumes
wasn’t associated with any added risk.
Even though
some previous research has linked high-protein diets to strokes, the
results have been mixed and the current study helps solidify the
evidence suggesting that red meat in particular may pose a danger, said
lead study author Dr. Bernhard Haring of the Comprehensive Heart Failure
Center at the University of Wurzburg in Germany.
“It’s ok to eat red meat – preferably lean red meat – as long as you limit the amount,” Haring said by email.
To
assess the link between protein consumption and stroke risk, Haring and
colleagues reviewed data from diet questionnaires completed by U.S.
residents aged 45 to 64 starting in 1987 and followed them through 2011
to see how many people had strokes.
The
study participants were divided into five groups based on how much
protein and what type they consumed. For instance, the bottom-fifth
averaged about 49 grams of protein a day, representing less than 13
percent of total calories. The top-fifth averaged 93 grams of protein a
day, representing 23 percent of total calories.
Compared
to participants with high protein consumption, those who ate less
protein on average at the start of the study were more likely to be
black, current smokers and less likely to have high school diplomas or a
regular exercise routine. The people who ate less protein were also
less likely to be obese or take cholesterol-lowering medications.
There
were no major differences in age gender, or total calories consumed
among participants who ate different amounts of protein.
During a median follow-up of 22.7 years, there were 699 strokes among 11,601 participants.
The
highest intake of processed meats like bacon, sausage and jerky was
linked to a 24 percent higher risk of strokes, while the highest
consumption of red meat was tied to a 41 percent increased risk,
compared to people in the bottom-fifth for consumption of those items.
When
the researchers looked just at men, the highest consumers of red and
processed meats had a 62 percent higher stroke risk than men who ate the
least.
Eating more eggs was linked to a 41 percent
greater risk of hemorrhagic strokes, a less common type that is caused
by a ruptured blood vessel in the brain. But only red meats were tied to
ischemic strokes, the most common kind.
One limitation
of the study is that researchers only had data on protein intake at two
points in time, which the authors acknowledge might fail to account for
changes in eating habits over the years.
Because the
study was based on observation only and didn’t randomly assign some
people to eat red meat while others abstained, it isn’t possible to
determine how diet changes might help reduce the risk of future strokes,
noted Dr. Jennifer Dearborn-Tomazos, a neurology researcher at Yale
University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
It’s
possible, for example, that people who eat a lot of red meat also do
other things that increase the risk of strokes, like not eating enough
vegetables, Dearborn-Tomazos, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by
email.
Even so, the study findings linking red meat to
stroke risk after accounting for how much fat, carbohydrates and fiber
people consumed supports traditionally held beliefs that red meat and
saturated fats may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, she
said.
“This study really tells us that what we eat matters for our future cardiovascular health,” Dearborn-Tomazos said.
SOURCE: bit.ly/1MCIQ3z Stroke, online October 29, 2015.
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