Good news for steak lovers! Eating unprocessed red meat will NOT raise your risk of a stroke, review finds
- Researchers used star ratings to measure the strength of previous evidence
- Lots of unprocessed red meat and strokes was given a one-star rating
- This means there could be no link between the two, as studies were inconsistent
Eating unprocessed red meat does not make you more likely to suffer a stroke, a review suggests.
For decades there have been fears that consuming lots of steak and pork can increase the risk of heart disease due to their high levels of fat.
But scientists who analyzed nearly 200 existing studies found ‘no evidence’ that the two are linked.
And there was also only ‘weak evidence’ that eating unprocessed red meat leads to colorectal cancer, breast cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Lead study author Dr Christopher Murray, from Washington University, said he hoped the finding will ‘clear up confusion and help consumers make informed decisions about diet, exercise, and other activities that can affect their long-term health’.
Meat is considered unprocessed if it is fresh, and hasn’t been packaged, cooked, canned or altered from its natural state.
Processed meat — like bacon, sausages and salami — has been modified to enhance its taste or shelf life, by smoking, salting, curing, drying or canning.
Eating unprocessed red meat does not raise your risk of having a stroke, contrary to previous findings. Past studies had conflicting results, researchers from the University of Washington found
For years, eating red meat has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease due to its high levels of saturated fat.
The fat is thought to raise levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the body, which is a well-known risk factor for coronary heart disease.
The researchers examined 180 studies from across the world which looked at certain behaviors and diet choices and their effect on illnesses.
They used an easy star rating system showing the strength of evidence for each pairing.
One star meant there may be no association, while five meant the behavior increased the chance of the condition by more than 85 per cent.
Unsurprisingly, the review found very strong evidence between smoking and lung cancer – which increased the risk by 106 per cent.
The link between eating lots of unprocessed red meat and ischemic stroke – the most common type of stroke – was given just one star.
A two-star link was found between avoiding vegetables and coronary heart disease.
People who avoided their greens had between a 0 and 15 per cent increased risk of the condition, according to the review.
Co-lead author Dr Emmanuela Gakidou said: ‘In addition to helping consumers, our analysis can guide policymakers in developing health and wellness education programs, so that they focus on the risk factors with the greatest impact on health.
‘Health researchers can also use this analysis to identify areas where current evidence is weak and more definitive studies are needed.’
The ratings may change as more data becomes available, especially for pairings with low star ratings where the research is limited or contradictory, the researchers said.
High star ratings are less likely to change, since there is already strong evidence for the link.
The findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
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