Eating one piece of bacon a day increases your risk of dementia by 44%, research suggests

Eating processed meats like sausage, bacon and burgers could dramatically increase your risk of dementia, new research shows.

The findings suggest that eating just one piece of bacon a day could increase your chances of developing the disease by as much as 44 percent.

Meat aficionados need not despair, however, as scientists who conducted the study also found that food Some unprocessed meats, including beef, pork, and veal, can protect against dementia.

In the study, people who ate 50 grams of unprocessed meat per day were nearly 20 percent less likely to develop the condition.

The study, by the University of Leeds, explored a possible link between eating meat and developing dementia using data from 500,000 people.

Professor Janet Cade, who oversaw the study, said: “Anything we can do to investigate potential risk factors for dementia can help us reduce the number of cases of this debilitating condition.

‘This analysis is a first step to understand whether what we eat can influence that risk.’

Researchers examined links between eating different types of meat and the risk of dementia.

The team studied data from the UK Biobank database of genetic and health information from half a million Britons aged 40 to 69 between 2006 and 2010.

This included how often people ate different meats, with six options ranging from never to once or more per day.

Vegetarian and vegan diets weren’t specifically looked at, but the study did include people who avoided red meat.

Over an average of eight years, nearly 2,900 cases of dementia emerged.

This was seen in people who were generally older, more economically disadvantaged, less educated, more likely to smoke, less physically active, more likely to have a history of stroke and family dementia, and more likely to have carry a gene related to dementia.

In the study, more men than women were diagnosed with dementia.

Professor Cade said: ‘Some people were three to six times more likely to develop dementia due to established genetic factors, but the findings suggest that the risks of eating processed meat were the same regardless of whether someone was genetically predisposed to it. developing the disease.

“Those who ate higher amounts of processed meat were more likely to be male, less educated, smokers, overweight or obese, had a lower intake of fruits and vegetables, and had a higher intake of energy, protein, and fat, including saturated fat.”

Meat consumption has previously been associated with dementia risk, but this is believed to be the first large-scale study of participants over time to investigate an association between specific meat types and quantities, and the risk of developing the sickness.

Lead researcher Huifeng Zhang, a PhD student at the University of Leeds, said: “Globally, the prevalence of dementia is increasing and nutrition as an adaptable factor could play a role.

“Our research adds to the growing body of evidence that the consumption of processed meat is associated with an increased risk of a range of non-communicable diseases.”

Worldwide, there are about 50 million cases of dementia, with about ten million new cases diagnosed each year.

Alzheimer’s disease makes up 50 to 70 percent of the cases, and vascular dementia about 25 percent.

Its development and progression are associated with both genetic and environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle.

Ms. Zhang added: “Further confirmation is needed, but the direction of the effect is linked to current healthy eating guidelines, suggesting that a lower intake of unprocessed red meat could be beneficial for health.”

The findings were published Monday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.