Summary: According to a study of over 133, 000 people, consuming processed red meat daily increases the risk of dementia by up to 13 %, while switching to alternatives like nuts, legumes, or fish may lower the risk by 20 %. Higher intake of processed meat was related to accelerated cognitive aging and subjective cognitive decline (SCD )
Experts suggest that saturated fat, sodium, and gut microbiota alterations, including TMAO production, perhaps link dark meat to dementia risk. These findings highlight the value of eating options for both physical and mental health, and show that basic dietary changes can reduce dementia risk.
Important Information:
- Dementia Chance: Consuming processed red meats every day raises dementia risk by 13 %, with cognitive aging accelerating by 1.6 times per serving.
- Protective Alternatives: Replacing processed red meat with nuts, legumes, or fish reduces dementia risk by 20 %.
- Gut-Brain Link: Red wine’s impact on the gut bacteria, including TMAO manufacturing, may lead to mental dysfunction.
Origin: Mass General
Red meat consumption is recognized as a risk factor for serious diseases like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
A new research by prosecutors from , Mass General Brigham, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard found that eating greater amounts of red meat, mainly in processed types, increased risk for dementia, also.
Results, published online on January 15, 2025 in , Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, show that replacing processed red meats with protein sources like nuts and legumes or fish may reduce dementia risk by about 20 percent.
” Dietary guidelines tend to focus on reducing risks of chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes, while cognitive health is less frequently discussed, despite being linked to these diseases”, said corresponding author , Daniel Wang, MD, ScD,  , of the , Channing Division of Network Medicine , at , Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health care system. Wu is also a member of the Broad Institute’s Associate Council and an adjunct professor in the Harvard Chan School’s Department of Nutrition.
” We hope our findings encourage more investigation into the link between diet and brain health,” we said.
As the U. S. population ages, dementia represents a growing challenge for patients and families. Among 133, 771 individuals included in this study with an average age of 49 years at baseline, 11, 173 were diagnosed with dementia up to 43 years later.
Data were drawn from the , Nurses ‘ Health Study , ( NHS) and , Health Professionals Follow-Up Study , ( HPFS), which prospectively study thousands of participants ‘ health and lifestyles, which may influence risk of chronic diseases like dementia.
The studies include decades of detailed health information, including participants ‘ typical diets, which they update every 2 to 4 years.
3 ounces of red meat, or roughly the size of a bar of soap, make up the average serving. Taking into account numerous clinical, demographic, and lifestyle factors, including socioeconomic status and family history of dementia, had a 13 percent higher risk of developing dementia than those who only consumed one-tenth of a serving of processed red meat per day ( roughly two slices of bacon, one and half slices of bologna, or a hot dog ).
The researchers used standard cognitive tests to evaluate objective cognitive functioning. According to them, those who consumed more processed meat also suffered from cognitive aging that accelerated by about 1.6 years per typical daily serving.
The researchers also looked at self-reported subjective cognitive decline (SCD ), which may appear before standard evaluations of cognitive decline. Consuming either processed or unprocessed meat ( like beef, pork, and hamburgers ) was linked to a higher risk of SCD.
SCD risk increased by 14 % for those who consume one-quarter or more servings of processed meat per day, compared to the group that consumes little or none, and by 16 % for those who consume one or more daily servings of unprocessed meat, compared to those who consume less than half a serving.
The researchers are still looking into the connections between red meat and dementia risk, particularly those that involve the gut microbiome.
Trimethylamine N-oxide ( TMAO ), a product of the bacteria-mediated breakdown of meat, may increase cognitive dysfunction due to its effects on the aggregation of amyloid and tau, proteins involved in Alzheimer’s disease, but research is limited.
Red meat’s high levels of saturated fat and salt may also have an impact on brain cell health.
 ,” Large, long-term cohort studies are essential for investigating conditions like dementia, which can develop over decades”, Wang said.
” We are working on this story to better understand the causes of dementia and cognitive decline.”
Funding:  , This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health ( R01AG077489, RF1AG083764, R00DK119412, R01NR019992, and P30DK046200 ).
About this research on diet and dementia
Author: Brandon Chase
Source: Mass General
Contact: Brandon Chase – Mass General
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
Yanping Li and colleagues ‘” Red meat consumption in US adults in relation to cognitive function and risk of dementia” Neurology
Abstract
Red meat consumption in US adults in relation to cognitive function and risk of dementia
Background and Objectives
Red meat consumption and cognitive health have previously been linked inconsequentially with previous studies. Our goal was to investigate the link between red meat consumption and various cognitive outcomes.
Methods
Participants in this prospective cohort study were included in both the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study ( HPFS ) and the Nurses ‘ Health Study ( NHS) at baseline. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to validate diets.
We ascertained incident dementia cases from both NHS participants ( 1980–2023 ) and HPFS participants ( 1986–2023 ). A subset of NHS participants were surveyed using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status ( 1995–2008 ) to assess their objective cognitive functioning. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD ) was self-reported by NHS participants ( 2012, 2014 ) and HPFS participants ( 2012, 2016 ).
Cox proportional hazards models, general linear regression, and Poisson regression models were used to examine the connections between red meat consumption and various cognitive outcomes.
Results
The dementia analysis included 133, 771 participants ( 65.4 % female ) with a mean baseline age of 48.9 years, the objective cognitive function analysis included 17, 458 female participants with a mean baseline age of 74.3 years, and SCD analysis included 43, 966 participants ( 77.1 % female ) with a mean baseline age of 77.9 years.
Participants with processed red meat intake ≥0.25 serving per day, compared with <, 0.10 serving per day, had a 13 % higher risk of dementia ( hazard ratio]HR] 1.13, 95 % CI 1.08–1.19,  , plinearity , <, 0.001 ) and a 14 % higher risk of SCD ( relative risk]RR] 1.14, 95 % CI 1.04–1.25,  , plinearity , = 0.004 ).
Higher processed red meat intake was associated with accelerated aging in global cognition ( 1.61 years per 1 serving per day increment]95 % CI 0.20–3.03] ) and in verbal memory ( 1.69 years per 1 serving per day increment]95 % CI 0.13–3.25], both , plinearity , = 0.03 ). Unprocessed red meat intake of ≥1.00 serving per day, compared with <, 0.50 serving per day, was associated with a 16 % higher risk of SCD ( RR 1.16, 95 % CI 1.03–1.30,  , plinearity , = 0.04 ).
Replacing 1 serving per day of nuts and legumes for processed red meat was associated with a 19 % lower risk of dementia ( HR 0.81, 95 % CI 0.75–0.86 ), 1.37 fewer years of cognitive aging (95 % CI −2.49 to −0.25 ), and a 21 % lower risk of SCD ( RR 0.79, 95 % CI 0.68–0.92 ).
Discussion
Higher intake of red meat, especially processed red meat, was linked to a higher risk of dementia and poorer cognitive functioning. Red meat consumption reduction might be included in dietary recommendations to advance cognitive health. Further investigation is required to determine whether these findings are applicable to populations with diverse ethnic backgrounds.
