Processed red meat and dementia: What a new study means for your diet Are lean, organic, or grass-fed options healthier?
Regularly eating processed red meat has long been linked to heart disease and cancer — now, researchers say it could also raise your risk of dementia.
We asked nutrition experts how consumers can make informed and healthy choices about eating red meat.
What is red meat?
Red meat refers to “all mammalian muscle meat,” including beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse, and goat, according to the World Health Organization.
What is the difference between processed and unprocessed meat?
Processed meat is meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to improve taste or preservation, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Meat that is preserved usually has high amounts of salt or other preservatives like nitrates. Some studies have found that nitrates can interact with components in meat to form potential carcinogens.
Common examples of processed meats include bacon, hot dogs, sausages, and cold cuts like salami and bologna.
