Red meat. Talk about a love-hate relationship.

Red and processed meat consumption has been linked to everything from diabetes to heart disease to colon and breast cancer.

So, it shouldn’t surprise you to hear that it’s also been linked to the risk of dementia and cognitive decline.

Here’s what researchers have found, including how much your daily intake can negatively impact your brain health and what you can eat to take those odds back down…

43 years of data on eating meat

“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,” says Dr. Daniel Wang of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, corresponding author of the study.

Dr. Wang is the corresponding author of a study from MIT and Harvard that looked at how eating red meat, including processed meat, affects cognitive function.

Data for this study was taken from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which together studied 43 years of data on thousands of subjects’ health and lifestyles to see the impact on the risk of chronic diseases and dementia.

Dr. Wang and his colleagues found that subjects who ate a daily average of ¼ or more of a serving of processed red meats (about two slices of bacon, 1½ slices of bologna or a hot dog) had a 13 percent higher risk of developing dementia.

The study also looked at self-reported signs of subjective cognitive decline, such as forgetting things more often and having trouble navigating familiar places. The risk of mild cognitive impairment increased 14 percent for those eating ¼ or more servings of processed meat daily and 16 percent for those eating one or more daily servings of unprocessed meat more than one serving daily.

Eat food that supports your brain

Increased odds for dementia of 13 to 16 percent may not seem like a lot, but many other things, including genetic risk, could add up to an overall risk that is higher than you know.

Dr. Wang’s study emphasized that replacing processed red meat with other sources of protein like nuts, legumes, or fish may decrease dementia risk by about 20 percent.

Mind you, you don’t need to do this all at once. Here are a couple of tips if you want to reduce your red meat intake, allowing you to make changes at your own pace and comfort level:

• Consider meatless Mondays. Substitute chicken or fish for red meat.
• Think less about what you’re giving up and more about what you should add. For instance, multiple studies have shown berries have a phenomenal effect on brain health.

Specifically, blueberries and strawberries are associated with slowing the rate of cognitive decline with age and lowering the development of late-life dementia. Adding these foods to your diet can be a delicious and beneficial change!

Of course, if you’d like to follow a more specific eating plan, you can’t do better than the Mediterranean diet, which has shown promising results in reducing the risk of cognitive decline…

In one study, the spinal fluid of adults at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s showed reductions in amyloid plaque and tau protein when they followed a Mediterranean diet.

Here are some basics that will help you “go Mediterranean”:

• Eat lots of vegetables and fruit. Shoot for five to ten servings of fruits and veggies per day. A serving is about a half-cup cooked or a whole cup raw.
• Pick your animal protein carefully. The Mediterranean diet focuses on lean protein, like fish and poultry. Eggs are okay, too.  
• Get plenty of plant-based protein. Nuts, seeds, and legumes are all an important part of a Mediterranean diet.
• Only go for whole grains. You’ll have to ditch refined grains in favor of whole grains to reap the benefits of a Mediterranean diet.
• Seek healthy fats from sources like extra-virgin olive oil, avocado, walnuts, and almonds which play a huge part in the diet’s health benefits.
• Do dairy in moderation. Some dairy is allowed on the Mediterranean diet. Include health-promoting options like probiotic-rich yogurt, cottage cheese or kefir.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Red meat consumption increases risk of dementia and cognitive decline — Eureka Alert

Long-Term Intake of Red Meat in Relation to Dementia Risk and Cognitive Function in US Adults — Neurology

Does Eating A Mediterranean Diet Protect Against Memory Loss and Dementia? — American Academy of Neurology