Replacing lean meat with vegetable foods can reduce the risk of heart disease

Replacing lean meat with high-quality vegetable foods such as beans, nuts, and soybeans may moderately reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). BMJ today.

Replace whole grains and dairy products with all red Meat, And eggs for processed lean meat may also reduce this risk.

Substantial evidence is that eating large amounts of lean meats, especially processed lean meats such as bacon, hot dogs, sausages, and salami, increases the risk of major chronic illnesses such as death and coronary heart disease. Suggests.

Studies with inconsistent results often cannot compare lean meat to similar proteins. Source of energy..

To deal with these issues Study design In the analysis, a team of researchers in the United States investigated the relationship between total, processed, and raw lean meat and the risk of CHD, and estimated the impact of replacing lean meat with another protein source at CHD risk.

Their findings are based on data from 43,272 American men (mean age 53 years) in a follow-up health care professional who had no cardiovascular disease or cancer at the time of enrollment.

Participants completed a detailed dietary questionnaire in 1986 and every four years thereafter, until 2016, providing information on their medical history and lifestyle.

Medical records have been used to track CHD events (fatal and non-fatal) over the last 30 years. During this time, 4,456 CHD events were recorded, of which 1,860 were fatal.

After considering other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, researchers found that with each serving daily, whole lean meat was associated with a moderate (12%) higher risk of CHD. Did. A similar association was found between untreated (11% higher risk) and treated lean meat (15% higher risk).

However, compared to lean meat, a combination of plant protein sources such as nuts, legumes (peas, beans, lentils, etc.) and soybeans can reduce the risk of CHD by 14% per serving per day. I will.

This risk is even lower (18%) among men over the age of 65, when compared to processed lean meat (17%).

Replacing whole grains and dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) with whole lean meat and eggs with processed lean meat was also associated with a reduced risk of CHD. This association was especially strong among young men who had a 20% lower risk of CHD by replacing lean meat with eggs.

Replacing lean meat with whole fish was not associated with CHD risk. However, researchers say this may be due to the cooking method (ie, frying) and the fact that this food group also included processed fish products.

Because this is an observational study, it is not possible to determine the cause, and despite adjusting for important personal and lifestyle factors, researchers have found that other unmeasured factors influence the results. The possibility cannot be ruled out.

In addition, the findings may not be more widely applicable, as the study participants were primarily white medical professionals.

Nonetheless, this is a large study of repeated dietary measurements during a 30-year follow-up period, suggesting that the findings are scrutinized.

Thus, their study found that higher intakes of total lean meat, raw lean meat, and processed lean meat, independent of other diets and non-diet, increased the risk of CHD. It states that it is showing. Cardiovascular disease Risk factor.

Whole grain alternatives or Dairy products The use of eggs instead of total and processed lean meats was also associated with a reduced risk of CHD, they add.

“These findings are consistent with the effects of these foods on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and support the health benefits of limiting. Red meat Consumption and replacement with plant protein sources, “they explain.

They conclude that this also has important environmental benefits.