There are two kinds of people in total; the more a fan of Chicken and the other ones are die-hard fans of red meat or what we majorly know as in South-Asian Countries, Mutton. There is no second thought in saying that a complete non-vegetarian diet is necessary to obtain the body’s required protein amount.
But we could also not deny a fundamental fact that states that plant-based proteins are more nutritious and pose a lower risk to individuals’ health. You might have heard millions of times from your doctor saying that red meat is not a good idea for a person suffering from cardiovascular disease.
It is most evident that processed red meat such as hot dogs or salami could be a very harmful option for people with heart or chronic disease. Instead, one study suggests that it’s time people pay more attention to their food habits and health to help their heart be healthy by swapping to plant-based protein foods from red meat consumption.
What does the study say?
One of the sources named Healthline mentioned in one of their article an expert opinion. Dr. Anjali Dutta, who is a cardiologist with New York-Presbyterian Medical Group Queens, told the website,
There have been a lot of studies that have gone away from the red meat diet, focusing more on a plant-based diet. There has been an emphasis on a Mediterranean diet, which is a high emphasis on nuts, less on carbohydrates, and this study was really great in showing the benefits of… a plant-based diet and the cardiac effects and risk reduction.
~ Healthline
Dr. Dutta’s expert advice proves one thing for sure that we all somehow know that red meat is not a very good choice for keeping our hearts healthy, but we must acknowledge this factor and do something about this.
The research was published in the BMJ Journal that specified swapping red meat with whole grains and dairy products. The processed red meat with eggs could specifically help lower the risk of coronary heart disease in people. The study’s main aim was to identify how much red meat consumption or what other factors along with red meat consumption could move towards any heart disease, to be precise.
The researchers collected their data by taking into account about 43,272 men in the United States, aged about 53 years at an average. The data were curated from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. All these men whose data were collected for the study did not have any heart disease and were fit and healthy.
The researchers started this study in the year 1986 and continued observing these participants till the present date. Hence, the study observation continued for 30 years and was mainly longitudinal research. All these men filled up a questionnaire every four years, including their detailed diet in everyday life.
When these questionnaires and the health of these men were observed together after complete 30 years, the researchers analyzed the following things:
- 4,456 Coronary Heart Disease were recorded over 30 years
- 1860 out of 4456 were recorded to be fatal
- One serving per day lead of total meat consumption led to a 12 percent higher risk of Coronary Heart Disease.
- 11 percent risk associated with unprocessed red meat
- 15 percent high risk was associated with processed red meat
However, one of the experts related to the study mentioned that they observed that the participants who were more into high-quality plant-based protein such as legumes, beans, soy, whole grains, etc., as an alternative to red meat showed a decrease in any heart disease by 14 percent.
It happened so because all of these plant-based foods are rich in unsaturated fats, fibers, and antioxidants, which help reduce the bad cholesterol from the system, increase the good cholesterol, and enhance blood vessels’ performance.
The researchers said about the validity of this research because, during the pandemic period, the people in other parts of the country faced a shortage of red meat, which led them to indulge more in plant-based protein products.
Moreover, as reports suggest, WHO gave nutritional advice during the COVID-19, stating that it is best to consume less fat, salt, and sugar to risk heart disease, obesity, stroke, diabetes, and other kinds of conditions could be reduced.
The study has discussed something that experts and doctors have told over million times, but it is time to look and be cautious about this to reduce the risk of heart diseases even more.
