WASHINGTON (AFP) - - People who eat more red or processed meat
have a higher risk of death from all causes including cancer, while
a higher consumption of white meat reduces such risks, a
decade-long US study released Monday found.
The joint study begun in 1995 by the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) and seniors group AARP followed more than half a
million men and women between age 50 and 71, who filled out a food
frequency questionnaire estimating their intake of red and
processed meats as well as white meats such as pork, chicken and
turkey.
Over the study period, 47,976 men and 23,276 women died. The one
fifth of men and women who ate the most red meat -- a median of
62.5 grams per 1,000 calories per day -- had a higher mortality
rate than the one fifth who consumed the least -- 9.8 grams per
thousand calories, according to the report.
A similar rate held true for consumers of processed meat.
Comparatively, the top fifth of white meat consumers had a
slightly lower risk for death than those who ate the least white
meat.
"For overall mortality, 11 percent of deaths in men and 16
percent of deaths in women could be prevented if people decreased
their red meat consumption to the level of intake in the first
quintile," wrote the authors led by Rashmi Sinha of NIH's National
Cancer Institute.
"The impact on cardiovascular disease mortality was an 11
percent decrease in men and a 21 percent decrease in women if the
red meat consumption was decreased to the amount consumed by
individuals in the first quintile."
Cancer-causing compounds are know to form during
high-temperature cooking of meat, the report stated, and meat is a
major source of saturated fat, which has been linked to certain
cancers.
Lower meat consumption has been linked to reductions in risk
factors for heart disease, including lower cholesterol levels and
blood pressure.
"These results complement the recommendations by the American
Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund to
reduce red and processed meat intake to decrease cancer incidence,"
the authors wrote.
But red meat gives you bigger breasts and white meat gives you
bigger butts.....so how to decide? 
