Swapping certain items on a fry-up can reduce your risk of developing dementia, a new study has suggested.
A large new research project analysed the links between processed red meat consumption and a person’s risk of developing dementia.
It said replacing bacon and sausages for beans and tofu could potentially help cut a person’s dementia risk.
Experts analysed a long-term study tracking the health of nurses and other health professionals working in the US.
More than 130,000 people were involved with the study.
They were tracked for up to 43 years and entered information on their dietary habits every two to four years.
These questionnaires asked about how often they ate processed red meat including: bacon; hot dogs; sausages; salami and other processed sandwich meat.
They were also asked about their consumption of nuts and legumes including: peanut butter; peanuts; walnuts; other nuts; string beans; beans; peas; soy milk and tofu.
More than 11,000 cases of dementia were identified during the follow-up period.
Consuming two servings of processed red meat each week appeared to raise the risk of dementia by 14% compared consumption of about three servings a month, according to the study abstract, which has been presented to the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in the US.
The researchers also assessed the language; executive function and processing of more than 17,000 people involved in the study. They also analysed their ability to recall and understand words and sentences – also known as verbal memory.
They found that replacing one daily serving of processed red meat for a daily serving of nuts, beans or tofu every day may lower the risk of dementia by 20%.
There was no significant link found between unprocessed red meat – such as steak and pork chops – and dementia risk.
“Study results have been mixed on whether there is a relationship between cognitive decline and meat consumption in general, so we took a closer look at how eating different amounts of both processed and unprocessed meat affects cognitive risk and function ,” said lead author of the study Yuhan Li, a research assistant at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, who conducted the study while a graduate student at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
“By studying people over a long period of time, we found that eating processed red meat could be a significant risk factor for dementia.
“Dietary guidelines could include recommendations limiting it to promote brain health.
“Processed red meat has also been shown to raise the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. It may affect the brain because it has high levels of harmful substances such as nitrites (preservatives) and sodium.”
Heather Snyder vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer’s Association, added: “Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and all other dementia is a major focus, and the Alzheimer’s Association has long encouraged eating a healthier diet – including foods that are less processed – because they’ve been associated with lower the risk of cognitive decline.
“This large, long-term study provides a specific example of one way to eat healthier.”
Commenting on the study, Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Research into diet and the risk of dementia is a major focus. In particular, the effect of eating processed red meat on our health has been a hot topic.
“In this study more people who ate processed red meat went on to develop dementia and had worse memory and thinking skills.
“It’s important to remember that this doesn’t mean that eating processed red meat is directly related to developing dementia. It may be that people who avoid processed red meat are generally more health conscious and avoid other unhealthy habits that increase dementia risk.
“The diseases that cause dementia are very complex, and it is unlikely that one food group would make a significant difference. Instead, we know that what is good for the heart is good for the head, and recommend everyone to eat a healthy balanced diet.”
Dr Hilda Mulrooney, reader in nutrition and health at the London Metropolitan University, said: “This is a large study carried out over a long time period. However, the information currently available is limited to an abstract.
“It is unclear what is meant by ‘subjective cognitive decline’, and while follow up occurred over a long time period, diet was assessed only every two to four years, and diets could change a lot during that time period.
“This study focused on only some aspects of diet, and there are others which could potentially play a part in risk of cognitive decline. It is not clear whether any of those were taken into account.
“The full paper will be of interest so that the tools and methods used to assess diet and cognitive decline, the characteristics of the study population and factors controlled for, can be understood.”
Dr Sebastian Walsh, doctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge, added: “Whilst eye-catching, it is difficult to know exactly what to make of these results without seeing the full research paper.
“On the surface, this is a large and long study. But it isn’t clear how the analysis was done – specifically what other factors were taken into account when looking at this apparent relationship between red meat and dementia.”
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