New Study Links Red Meat Consumption to Increased Dementia Risk

A recent study published in Neurology Journals (American Academy of Neurology) demonstrates long-term intake of red meat with dementia as well as cognitive risk

Red meat is the meat obtained from animals such as lamb, goat, cow, pork, etc.Freepik

Published on:

19 Feb 2025, 4:34 pm

Updated on:

19 Feb 2025, 4:34 pm

What is Red Meat?

Red meat is the meat obtained from animals such as lamb, goat, cow, pork, etc.

Dietary benefits of red meat include zinc, B Vitamins and iron.

Previous Studies:

There have been numerous studies which link consumption of red meat to risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, Cardiovascular disease, Stroke and even Cancer. ^[1-4]

New Study:

The novel study carried out by Yuhan Li, Yanping Li and others, assess the real-life association between red meat consumers and cognitive health. Candidates who did not possess dementia were included in this study and it was carried out from 1980 to 2023.

Dietary guidelines tend to focus on reducing risks of chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes, while cognitive health is less frequently discussed, despite being linked to these diseases. We hope our results encourage greater consideration of the connection between diet and brain health.

Dr. Daniel Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

For analyzing dementia, total 1,33,771 candidates were assessed. Different intakes of red meat were evaluated for investigating the development of dementia as well as Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD).

Study Results

The study results indicated that candidates who consumed higher amount of red meat per day had 13% more risk of developing dementia and 14% greater risk of developing SCD.

Alternative healthy sources of food to avoid red meat:

Eating more plant-based foodstuffs such as veggies, fruits, whole grains. ^[5]
Usage of beans, lentils, portabella mushrooms, salad. ^[5,6]
Consumption of eggplant slices and tofu. ^[5,7]
Switching to meatless recipes ^[8] like lasagna, soup, pasta.

Summary

According to various studies, red meat is detrimental to physical as well as cognitive health. It is better to take precautionary measures by slowly reducing it's intake and then halt its consumption. Switching to alternate health options can prove beneficial to one’s physical and cognitive health.

REFERENCES:

[1] Shi, Wenming, Xin Huang, C. Mary Schooling, and Jie V. Zhao. "Red meat consumption, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis." European heart journal 44, no. 28 (2023): 2626-2635.

[2] Chen F, Hu W, Chen S, Si A, Zhang Y, Ma J. Stroke mortality attributable to high red meat intake in China and South Korea: An age–period–cohort and joinpoint analysis. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2022 Oct 14;9:921592.

[3] Sanders, Lisa M., Meredith L. Wilcox, and Kevin C. Maki. "Red meat consumption and risk factors for type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials." European journal of clinical nutrition 77, no. 2 (2023): 156-165.

[4] Farvid, Maryam S., Elkhansa Sidahmed, Nicholas D. Spence, Kingsly Mante Angua, Bernard A. Rosner, and Junaidah B. Barnett. "Consumption of red meat and processed meat and cancer incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies." European journal of epidemiology 36 (2021): 937-951.

[5] Würtz, Anne Mette L., Marianne U. Jakobsen, Monica L. Bertoia, Tao Hou, Erik B. Schmidt, Walter C. Willett, Kim Overvad et al. "Replacing the consumption of red meat with other major dietary protein sources and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a prospective cohort study." The American journal of clinical nutrition 113, no. 3 (2021): 612-621.

[6] Nykänen, Esa-Pekka, Ulla Hoppu, Eliisa Löyttyniemi, and Mari Sandell. "Nudging Finnish adults into replacing red meat with plant-based protein via presenting foods as dish of the day and altering the dish sequence." Nutrients 14, no. 19 (2022): 3973.

[7] Eckl, Marion R., Sander Biesbroek, Pieter Van’t Veer, and Johanna M. Geleijnse. "Replacement of meat with non-meat protein sources: a review of the drivers and inhibitors in developed countries." Nutrients 13, no. 10 (2021): 3602.

[8] Zhao, Shuoli, Lingxiao Wang, Wuyang Hu, and Yuqing Zheng. "Meet the meatless: Demand for new generation plant‐based meat alternatives." Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 45, no. 1 (2023): 4-21.

[9]Article link: Li, Yuhan, Yanping Li, Xiao Gu, Yuxi Liu, Danyue Dong, Jae Hee Kang, Molin Wang, et al. 2025. “Long-Term Intake of Red Meat in Relation to Dementia Risk and Cognitive Function in US Adults.” Neurology 104 (3). https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000210286.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Sanika Dongre/SSK)

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