Processing of meats and cardiovascular risk: Time to focus on preservatives

dc.contributor.author	Micha, R	en
dc.contributor.author	Michas, G	en
dc.contributor.author	Lajous, M	en
dc.contributor.author	Mozaffarian, D	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-06-06T06:52:46Z
dc.date.available	2014-06-06T06:52:46Z
dc.date.issued	2013	en
dc.identifier.issn	17417015	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-11-136	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://62.217.125.90/xmlui/handle/123456789/6162
dc.subject	Cardiovascular diseases	en
dc.subject	Diabetes	en
dc.subject	Meat	en
dc.subject	Processed meat	en
dc.subject	Red meat	en
dc.subject	Review	en
dc.subject.other	food preservative	en
dc.subject.other	sodium	en
dc.subject.other	blood pressure	en
dc.subject.other	cancer mortality	en
dc.subject.other	cardiovascular disease	en
dc.subject.other	cardiovascular risk	en
dc.subject.other	editorial	en
dc.subject.other	fish	en
dc.subject.other	food industry	en
dc.subject.other	food intake	en
dc.subject.other	food processing	en
dc.subject.other	fruit	en
dc.subject.other	human	en
dc.subject.other	legume	en
dc.subject.other	low fat diet	en
dc.subject.other	meta analysis (topic)	en
dc.subject.other	mortality	en
dc.subject.other	nut	en
dc.subject.other	nutrient	en
dc.subject.other	public health	en
dc.subject.other	red meat	en
dc.subject.other	vegetable	en
dc.subject.other	Cardiovascular Diseases	en
dc.subject.other	Diet	en
dc.subject.other	Feeding Behavior	en
dc.subject.other	Female	en
dc.subject.other	Humans	en
dc.subject.other	Male	en
dc.subject.other	Meat	en
dc.subject.other	Neoplasms	en
dc.title	Processing of meats and cardiovascular risk: Time to focus on preservatives	en
heal.type	other	en
heal.identifier.primary	10.1186/1741-7015-11-136	en
heal.identifier.secondary	136	en
heal.publicationDate	2013	en
heal.abstract	Dietary guidelines emphasize selecting lean (low-fat) meats to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol, but growing evidence suggests that health effects may relate to other ingredients, such as sodium, heme iron, or L-carnitine. Understanding how meats influence health, and on which nutrients this relationship depends, is essential to advise consumer choices, set guidelines, and inform food reformulations. A recent study published in BMC Medicine involving 448,568 participants in 10 European countries, provides important evidence in this regard. After multivariate adjustment, intake of unprocessed red meat was not significantly associated with total or cause-specific mortality; conversely, intake of processed meat was associated with a 30% higher rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (per 50 g/day, relative risk 1.30, 95% confidence interval 1.17 to 1.45) and also higher cancer mortality. These findings are consistent with our previous meta-analysis, based on smaller studies, showing strong associations of processed meats, but not unprocessed meats, with CVD. Preservatives are the notable difference; the calculated blood-pressure effects of sodium differences (around 400% higher in processed meats) explain most of the observed higher risk. Although unprocessed red meats seem to be relatively neutral for CVD, healthier choices are available, including fish, nuts, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. Public-health guidance should prioritize avoidance of processed meats, including the low-fat deli meats currently marketed as healthy choices, and the food industry should substantially reduce sodium and other preservatives in processed meats. See related research article here http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/11/63. © 2013 Micha et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.	en
heal.journalName	BMC Medicine	en
dc.identifier.issue	1	en
dc.identifier.volume	11	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1186/1741-7015-11-136	en