Offal news for grill masters.
Several studies have suggested that a diet rich in sugar and saturated fat can contribute to inflammation in the brain, potentially damaging brain cells and raising the risk of dementia.
New research finds that consistently consuming red meat — especially processed red meat, which is often high in saturated fat — increases your risk of cognitive decline and dementia more than occasional indulgence.
“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,” said study author Dr. Dong Wang of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“Our study found processed red meat may increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia,” he continued, “but the good news is that it also found that replacing it with healthier alternatives, like nuts, fish and poultry, may reduce a person’s risk.”
The researchers defined unprocessed red meat as beef, pork, lamb and hamburger.
Processed red meats have been salted, cured, smoked or chemically preserved for a long shelf life. Bacon, hot dogs, sausages, salami, bologna and similar products were highlighted for this research.
Here are the results of the three-part study into red meat consumption and cognitive decline, published Wednesday in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Dementia
Dementia is the progressive loss of memory, concentration and judgment. A study this week estimated that 42% of Americans will experience dementia after the age of 55.
Authors of the new study followed nearly 134,000 middle-aged people without dementia for up to 43 years. A little more than 11,000 participants developed dementia.
Everyone completed a food diary every two to four years, listing what they ate and how often.
Processed red meat eaters were divided into three groups — low (fewer than 0.10 daily servings), medium (0.10 to 0.24 daily servings) and high (0.25 or more servings per day).
A serving of red meat is 3 ounces, about the size of the palm of your hand.
After adjusting for age, sex and various risk factors, those in the high-consumption group had a 13% higher risk of dementia than those in the low group.
For unprocessed red meat, researchers did not find a difference in dementia risk when comparing participants who consumed less than half a serving per day to people who ate at least one serving daily.
Subjective cognitive decline
Subjective cognitive decline is when a person reports worsening memory and thinking abilities before the decline is substantial enough to appear on standard tests.
Nearly 44,000 participants, mostly in their late 70s, rated their memory and thinking skills twice during the study.
Researchers determined that those who ate an average of 0.25 or more daily servings of processed red meat had a 14% higher risk of subjective cognitive decline than those who consumed less than 0.10 daily servings.
Eating one or more daily servings of unprocessed red meat was linked to a 16% higher risk of subjective cognitive decline than eating less than half a daily serving.
Objective cognitive function
Objective cognitive function is how well your brain works to remember, reason and solve problems.
About 17,500 female participants, with an average age of 74, took memory and thinking tests four times during the study.
Researchers linked higher consumption of processed red meat to accelerated brain aging and verbal memory declines.
They found that the brain aged 1.61 years and verbal memory worsened by 1.69 years with each additional daily serving.
How to lower your risk of dementia
Replacing a daily serving of processed red meat with nuts and legumes lowered dementia risk by 19% and cognitive aging by 1.37 years, according to the study.
Dementia risk decreased by 28% when substituting fish and by 16% when swapping in chicken.
Wang acknowledged limitations to the study, including that participants were primarily white health care professionals. “More research is needed to assess our findings in more diverse groups,” he said.
Healthier ways to include red meat in your diet
Red meat is a good source of protein, vitamin B12, zinc, iron and other nutrients — and there are ways it can be part of a healthy diet.
Ashley Baumohl, a registered dietitian at Northwell Health Lenox Hill Hospital, suggested looking for labels that say 93% or 95% lean meat.
“This will significantly reduce the saturated fat and calories coming from saturated fat,” she told The Post.
Be sure to keep portion size in mind — eat smaller cuts if you want to have red meat more often. And remember to pair red meat with whole grains, veggies, fruits, nuts and legumes.
