By 2060, it is anticipated that the number of new dementia cases diagnosed in the US will treble to one million cases yearly. The risk of dementia is influenced by several factors, but there is evidence that food may be one of them.
According to a recent study, those who eat more red meat—especially processed red meat—may be more susceptible to dementia and cognitive decline than people who eat little to no red meat.
The research expands on earlier findings at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Philadelphia in July 2024 that linked eating processed red meat to an increased risk of dementia. Neurology published the study's most recent findings on January 15.
In a press release, Dong Wang, MD, ScD, senior author of the study, researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard, said, "Red meat is high in saturated fat and has been shown in previous studies to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which are both linked to reduced brain health."
"The good news is that our study found that substituting healthier options, such as nuts, fish, and poultry, for processed red meat may lower an individual's risk of cognitive decline and dementia."
Red meat processing raises the risk of dementia by 13%.
Wang and associates recruited 133,771 participants for the study, with an average age of 49. At the start of the trial, they were free of dementia. For as long as 43 years, the organization was monitored.
11,173 of the 133,771 research participants experienced dementia.
Participants were requested to maintain a food journal that included information on their food intake and frequency of consumption every two to four years.
Unprocessed red meat was defined by the researchers as either beef, lamb, hog, or hamburger. The definition of processed red beef was:
sausages and hot dogs
Bologna, salami, bacon, and other processed pork items
Three ounces, or about the size of a deck of cards, was regarded as a serving size.
Along with age and sex, the researchers also controlled for other variables that may contribute to cognitive deterioration.
They came to the conclusion that those who consumed the most processed red meat were 13% more likely to develop dementia than their counterparts who consumed the least quantity of meat.
There was no difference in the risk of dementia between people who consumed one or more servings of unprocessed meat daily and people who consumed, on average, less than half a serving.
The impact of processed red meat on cognitive abilities
When someone claims to have memory or cognitive issues before any discernible deterioration is severe enough to appear on routine testing, this is known as subjective cognitive decline.
The researchers looked at almost 43,000 individuals in the cohort, with an average age of 78, to gauge this.
During the study period, students completed surveys twice to score their own memory and reasoning abilities.
The researchers discovered that individuals who consumed an average of 0.25 servings or more of processed red meat daily had a 14% higher risk of subjective cognitive decline than those who consumed an average of less than 0.10 servings per day, even after controlling for age, sex, and other risk factors.
The researchers recruited slightly more than 17,000 participants to perform memory and thinking tests four times over the study period in order to assess the participants' objective cognitive function. All of the participants in this group were female, and their average age was 74.
The ability of the brain to think, remember, and solve problems is referred to as objective cognitive functions.
The researchers found that eating more processed red meat was linked to faster brain aging in the domain of global cognition (overall cognitive capacity) by 1.61 years per additional serving of processed red meat daily, even after controlling for other risk factors including age and sex.
The verbal memory region grew 1.69 years older with every extra serving of processed red meat. The term "verbal memory" describes the ability to recall language and words.
The connection between dementia and diet
The results make sense, according to experts who were not engaged in the current study.
The detrimental effects of processed red meats on brain function are not surprising. Jasmin Dao, MD, PhD, a pediatric and adult neurologist at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach, CA, and MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, told Healthline that processed red meats are frequently heavy in fats, sodium, and sugars, all of which are already known to have negative effects on the body.
The link between diet and dementia is still being discovered. Numerous studies indicate that the foods we eat have a significant impact on the health of our brains. Eating a healthy diet has been linked to better brain processing. On the other hand, consuming more ultra-processed foods (such as those containing high fructose corn syrup or artificial coloring or chemicals) can harm brain cells, leading to dementia and cognitive decline, Dao added.
The study is the most recent in an expanding collection of studies looking into the effects of eating red and processed red meats on one's health.
Dana Hunnes, PhD, a senior dietitian at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told Healthline, "It is fairly well known that red meat, and especially processed red meats, are highly inflammatory, are associated with increased risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and may also increase the risk for plaques in the brain which are associated with dementia and/or cognitive decline."
There is also a connection between trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Processed red meats have a higher salt content, which raises blood pressure, lowers cerebral perfusion, or blood flow to the brain, and may cause vascular dementia. Therefore, I'm not shocked at all, considering these previously established links," Hunnes continued.
Is it possible to consume red meat and remain healthy?
Reducing the amount of meat in the diet can be a smart place to start for people who prefer to eat red meat in order to promote cognitive health, according to experts.The researchers discovered that replacing one serving of processed red meat per day with a serving of nuts or legumes was linked to a 1.37-year reduction in cognitive aging and a 19% lower risk of dementia.
The incidence of dementia was lowered by 28% when a serving of processed red meat was substituted with fish and by 16% when chicken was substituted.
Balance is key to a diet that supports cognitive health, according to Heather M. Snyder, PhD, senior vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association, who spoke to Healthline. Snyder did not participate in the research.
Because a balanced diet has been linked to a lower risk of cognitive decline, we have long advocated eating less processed foods to make sure our bodies are getting the nutrients they need. We might find additional eating patterns that raise or lower our risk as study progresses," Snyder stated.
According to thorough scientific research, no food or ingredient has been proven to cause, raise risk, prevent, treat, or cure Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. A disease as complicated as Alzheimer's is unlikely to be significantly improved or worsened by a single diet, she added.
Red meat is only one piece of the puzzle of dementia risk, according to Associate Professor Michael Woodward, MD, head of Aged Care Research and the Memory Clinic at Austin Health in Melbourne, Australia, and an honorary medical advisor for Dementia Australia. Woodward told Healthline that diet plays a significant role in cognitive health. Woodward did not participate in the study either.
"Diet is unquestionably protective against cognitive decline, and eating poorly increases your risk." Additionally, weight might be linked to both exercise and diet, Woodward noted.
One of the risk factors is being overweight. A Mediterranean-style diet that includes plenty of vegetables, fish, legumes, nuts, and preferably white meat—like chicken or fish—as well as olive oil as your preferred oil is necessary to lower your risk of cognitive impairment. There is no denying the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet," he said.
"Everyone should assess how well their current diet fits into the Mediterranean diet. Naturally, a Mediterranean diet allows for some red meat, but if you're eating a lot of meat along with a lot of fat and grain, you might want to consider cutting back. To lower the risk of cognitive impairment, I wouldn't advise individuals to instantly cut out red meat from their diet. We don't have enough information for that, in my opinion. Woodward said, "I believe we need to look at brain health in general, not just red meat consumption."
Poor diet is thought to be a risk factor for dementia, which is predicted to double to one million new cases annually in the United States by 2060.
According to research, people who consume more processed red meat may be at higher risk of developing dementia.
According to a study including over 133,000 participants, individuals who consumed the most processed red meat were 13% more likely to acquire dementia than their counterparts who consumed the least amount.
A 19% and 28% decrease in dementia risk was linked to replacing one serving of processed red meat per day with nuts, legumes, or seafood, respectively.
