4 minutes ago
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Can
regular intake of meals rich in processed red meat and sugary drinks be
the reason for reducing life span and life expectancy of Nigerians?
CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.
THE rising incidence of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke, and kidney failure, especially in developing countries like Nigeria has been linked to growing patronage for processed red meat products and sugary drinks.
Why? Red meat, especially processed meat, contains ingredients that have been linked to increased risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. These include heme iron, saturated fat, sodium, nitrites, and certain carcinogens that are formed during cooking.
Several researches have shown that the body may compensate for the sugar rush of soft drinks by making its own supply of fats, and some of these will be bad for the heart. Tests on blood samples showed those who drank the sugary beverages tended to have higher levels of dangerous blood fats and of proteins linked to heart disease. Levels of ‘good’ cholesterol were lower.
A new study by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), United States (U.S.), published online Tuesday in Archives of Internal Medicine, found that red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality.
However, the results also showed that substituting other healthy protein sources, such as fish, poultry, nuts, and legumes, was associated with a lower risk of mortality.
Also, according to research published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal, men who drank a 12-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage a day had a 20 per cent higher risk of heart disease compared to men who didn’t drink any sugar-sweetened drinks.
A prospective study of over 500,000 people published in Archives of Internal Medicine concluded: “Red and processed meat intakes were associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality.”
The study population included the U.S. National Institutes of Health–AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) Diet and Health Study cohort of 500,000 people aged 50 to 71 years at baseline.
Meat intake was estimated from a food frequency questionnaire administered at baseline. Cox proportional hazards regression models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 per cent confidence intervals (CIs) within quintiles of meat intake. The covariates included in the models were age, education, marital status, family history of cancer (yes/no) (cancer mortality only), race, body mass index, 31-level smoking history, physical activity, energy intake, alcohol intake, vitamin supplement use, fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, and menopausal hormone therapy among women. Main outcome measures included total mortality and deaths due to cancer, cardiovascular disease, injuries and sudden deaths, and all other causes.
Lead author, An Pan, research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH said: “Our study adds more evidence to the health risks of eating high amounts of red meat, which has been associated with Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers in other studies.”
The researchers, including senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH, and colleagues, prospectively observed 37,698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study for up to 22 years and 83,644 women in the Nurses’ Health Study for up to 28 years who were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer at baseline. Diets were assessed through questionnaires every four years.
A combined 23,926 deaths were documented in the two studies, of which 5,910 were from CVD and 9,464 from cancer. Regular consumption of red meat, particularly processed red meat, was associated with increased mortality risk. One daily serving of unprocessed red meat (about the size of a deck of cards) was associated with a 13 per cent increased risk of mortality, and one daily serving of processed red meat (one hot dog or two slices of bacon) was associated with a 20 per cent increased risk.
Among specific causes, the corresponding increases in risk were 18 per cent and 21 per cent for cardiovascular mortality, and 10 per cent and 16 per cent for cancer mortality. These analyses took into account chronic disease risk factors such as age, body mass index, physical activity, family history of heart disease, or major cancers.
Replacing one serving of total red meat with one serving of a healthy protein source was associated with a lower mortality risk: Seven per cent for fish, 14 per cent for poultry, 19 per cent for nuts, 10 per cent for legumes, 10 per cent for low-fat dairy products, and 14 per cent for whole grains. The researchers estimated that 9.3 per cent of deaths in men and 7.6 per cent in women could have been prevented at the end of the follow-up if all the participants had consumed less than 0.5 servings per day of red meat.
“This study provides clear evidence that regular consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, contributes substantially to premature death,” said Hu. “On the other hand, choosing more healthful sources of protein in place of red meat can confer significant health benefits by reducing chronic disease morbidity and mortality.
“This study adds to the growing evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health,” said Prof. Frank B. Hu, study lead author and professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. “Certainly, it provides strong justification for reducing sugary beverage consumption among patients, and more importantly, in the general population.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Risk factors include obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, diabetes and poor diet.
Researchers, who studied 42,883 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, found that the increase persisted even after controlling for other risk factors, including smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol use and family history of heart disease. Less frequent consumption - twice weekly and twice monthly - didn’t increase risk.
Researchers also measured different lipids and proteins in the blood, which are indicators, or biomarkers, for heart disease. These included the inflammation marker C-reactive protein (CRP), harmful lipids called triglycerides and good lipids called high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Compared to non-drinkers, those who consumed sugary beverages daily had higher triglyceride and CRP and lower HDL levels.
Artificially sweetened beverages were not linked to increased risk or biomarkers for heart disease in this study.
Beginning in January 1986 and every two years until December 2008, participants answered questionnaires about diet and other health habits. They also provided a blood sample midway through the survey. Follow-up was 22 years.
Participants were primarily Caucasian men 40-75 years old. All were employed in a health-related profession.
Health habits of the men in the study may differ from those of the general public, but findings in women from the 2009 Nurses’ Health Study were comparable, Hu said.
THE rising incidence of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke, and kidney failure, especially in developing countries like Nigeria has been linked to growing patronage for processed red meat products and sugary drinks.
Why? Red meat, especially processed meat, contains ingredients that have been linked to increased risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. These include heme iron, saturated fat, sodium, nitrites, and certain carcinogens that are formed during cooking.
Several researches have shown that the body may compensate for the sugar rush of soft drinks by making its own supply of fats, and some of these will be bad for the heart. Tests on blood samples showed those who drank the sugary beverages tended to have higher levels of dangerous blood fats and of proteins linked to heart disease. Levels of ‘good’ cholesterol were lower.
A new study by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), United States (U.S.), published online Tuesday in Archives of Internal Medicine, found that red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality.
However, the results also showed that substituting other healthy protein sources, such as fish, poultry, nuts, and legumes, was associated with a lower risk of mortality.
Also, according to research published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal, men who drank a 12-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage a day had a 20 per cent higher risk of heart disease compared to men who didn’t drink any sugar-sweetened drinks.
A prospective study of over 500,000 people published in Archives of Internal Medicine concluded: “Red and processed meat intakes were associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality.”
The study population included the U.S. National Institutes of Health–AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) Diet and Health Study cohort of 500,000 people aged 50 to 71 years at baseline.
Meat intake was estimated from a food frequency questionnaire administered at baseline. Cox proportional hazards regression models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 per cent confidence intervals (CIs) within quintiles of meat intake. The covariates included in the models were age, education, marital status, family history of cancer (yes/no) (cancer mortality only), race, body mass index, 31-level smoking history, physical activity, energy intake, alcohol intake, vitamin supplement use, fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, and menopausal hormone therapy among women. Main outcome measures included total mortality and deaths due to cancer, cardiovascular disease, injuries and sudden deaths, and all other causes.
Lead author, An Pan, research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH said: “Our study adds more evidence to the health risks of eating high amounts of red meat, which has been associated with Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers in other studies.”
The researchers, including senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH, and colleagues, prospectively observed 37,698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study for up to 22 years and 83,644 women in the Nurses’ Health Study for up to 28 years who were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer at baseline. Diets were assessed through questionnaires every four years.
A combined 23,926 deaths were documented in the two studies, of which 5,910 were from CVD and 9,464 from cancer. Regular consumption of red meat, particularly processed red meat, was associated with increased mortality risk. One daily serving of unprocessed red meat (about the size of a deck of cards) was associated with a 13 per cent increased risk of mortality, and one daily serving of processed red meat (one hot dog or two slices of bacon) was associated with a 20 per cent increased risk.
Among specific causes, the corresponding increases in risk were 18 per cent and 21 per cent for cardiovascular mortality, and 10 per cent and 16 per cent for cancer mortality. These analyses took into account chronic disease risk factors such as age, body mass index, physical activity, family history of heart disease, or major cancers.
Replacing one serving of total red meat with one serving of a healthy protein source was associated with a lower mortality risk: Seven per cent for fish, 14 per cent for poultry, 19 per cent for nuts, 10 per cent for legumes, 10 per cent for low-fat dairy products, and 14 per cent for whole grains. The researchers estimated that 9.3 per cent of deaths in men and 7.6 per cent in women could have been prevented at the end of the follow-up if all the participants had consumed less than 0.5 servings per day of red meat.
“This study provides clear evidence that regular consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, contributes substantially to premature death,” said Hu. “On the other hand, choosing more healthful sources of protein in place of red meat can confer significant health benefits by reducing chronic disease morbidity and mortality.
“This study adds to the growing evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health,” said Prof. Frank B. Hu, study lead author and professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. “Certainly, it provides strong justification for reducing sugary beverage consumption among patients, and more importantly, in the general population.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Risk factors include obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, diabetes and poor diet.
Researchers, who studied 42,883 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, found that the increase persisted even after controlling for other risk factors, including smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol use and family history of heart disease. Less frequent consumption - twice weekly and twice monthly - didn’t increase risk.
Researchers also measured different lipids and proteins in the blood, which are indicators, or biomarkers, for heart disease. These included the inflammation marker C-reactive protein (CRP), harmful lipids called triglycerides and good lipids called high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Compared to non-drinkers, those who consumed sugary beverages daily had higher triglyceride and CRP and lower HDL levels.
Artificially sweetened beverages were not linked to increased risk or biomarkers for heart disease in this study.
Beginning in January 1986 and every two years until December 2008, participants answered questionnaires about diet and other health habits. They also provided a blood sample midway through the survey. Follow-up was 22 years.
Participants were primarily Caucasian men 40-75 years old. All were employed in a health-related profession.
Health habits of the men in the study may differ from those of the general public, but findings in women from the 2009 Nurses’ Health Study were comparable, Hu said.
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