Why you should consider putting down that sausage to reduce your dementia risk

Bacon. Hot dogs. Sausages.

For some people these are the tasty treats that make life fun, but a diet rich in red meats, especially processed forms of red meat, will likely increase your risk of dementia, according to new scientific research.

Researchers from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believe that replacing highly processed red meats with other protein sources like nuts, legumes or fish may decrease dementia risk by approximately 20 per cent.

Lead author, Dr Daniel Wang, from the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University said the team focused on red meat and dementia because they want to encourage “greater consideration of the connection between diet and brain health.”

“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,” Dr Wang said.

The research team looked at data from the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and examined the health and lifestyles of over 130,000 participants aged approximately 49 years old, within these health surveys. Of the 133,771 individuals examined in the study, 11,173 were diagnosed with dementia up to 43 years later.

By isolating the dietary data in these studies, the research team compared those who ate a daily average of one-quarter or more of a serving of processed red meats (roughly two slices of bacon, one and half slices of bologna, or a hot dog), to those who consumed a minimal amount (less than one-tenth a serving each day), and found that participants who ate more red meat had a 13 per cent higher risk of developing dementia.

Dr Wang said the team also used the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (1995–2008) to measure the participants’ objective cognitive function and discovered that this measure was also worse among who ate more processed meat, and that cognitive ageing accelerated by approximately 1.6 years per average daily serving.

They also took into consideration self-reported subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and saw that SCD risk increased by 14 per cent for participants who ate one-quarter or more servings of processed meat daily compared to those who ate minimal quantities.

In addition, SCD risk increased by 16 per cent for those eating one or more daily servings of unprocessed meat compared to those who ate less than half a serving.

However, the researchers concede more research is needed and are looking at factors linking red meat with dementia risk, such as the gut microbiome and more research needs to be done with populations from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

“Large, long-term cohort studies are essential for investigating conditions like dementia, which can develop over decades,” Dr Wang said.

“We are continuing to piece together this story to understand the mechanisms causing dementia and cognitive decline.”

But if you’re worried you’ll never enjoy your favourite foods, think again.

While this study highlights potential health concerns with processed food, other research suggests that certain snacks may be beneficial for your brain health.

Researchers from Queen’s University (QU) Belfast looked at the diets of people aged between and 70 and found that those who ate a flavonoid rich diet (such as teas, citrus fruits and vegetables) had a lower risk of developing dementia, particularly among those participants who were genetically at a higher risk of developing the disease.

The QU Belfast team analysed the eating habits of 120,000 people in the UK who had their dietary and medical data recorded in the UK Biobank’s records, from 2006 to 2010.

Lead researcher Dr Amy Jennings said the study found that participants who consumed six extra daily servings of tea, red wine and berries had a lower risk of developing dementia, especially if they drank more tea.

“We were also able to show, for the first time in our knowledge, that these associations were evident in participants at high genetic risk of dementia and those with modifiable risk factors, including depression and hypertension, but not in those without,” she said.

“Our results suggest that inclusion of flavonoid-rich foods into the daily diet may lower dementia risk, especially in populations at high risk.”

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.