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Processed red meat is linked to a higher risk of dementia

Those who ate unprocessed red meat had a 16% higher risk of having memory issues than those who ate minimal amounts. Photo: Pexels

(Alice Park/ TIME Magazine) — Processed red meats—like bacon, deli meats, and hot dogs—are linked to a host of health ills. Now, the latest study finds that eating too much red meat may even harm the brain.

In a study published in the journal Neurology, Dr. Daniel Wang, an assistant professor of medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and his team report that people who eat more processed red meat had a 14% higher risk of developing dementia over more than four decades that those who consumed minimal amounts.

The study analyzed data from more than 130,000 health professionals enrolled in two major studies: the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Every two to four years, people filled out detailed dietary surveys asking about their intake of more than 150 foods. The researchers also collected health data on dementia diagnoses and asked people brief questions about their memory. (…)

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