Abstract
Background: Red meat, processed and unprocessed, has been associated
with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, heart
failure (HF), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Despite these adverse
effects, it is still, highly consumed by the people of developed
counties and increasingly consumed by the people of developing
countries. Aims: The aim of the paper was to review the current evidence
on the effects of processed and unprocessed red meat consumption on the
incidence of CVD, stroke, HF, and T2DM. Materials and Methods: A Medline
search of the English language literature was conducted between 2010 and
April 2020 using the terms, red meat, white meat, processed meat,
unprocessed meat, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, diabetes
mellitus and 22 pertinent papers were retrieved. Results: The analysis
of results from these papers reveled that high red meat, especially
processed meat consumption, is significantly associated with an
increased risk of CVD, stroke, HF, and T2DM regardless of age, sex, or
ethnicity. Discussion: The results of the studies retrieved, revealed
that there is a controversy regarding the association of red meat
consumption with an increased incidence of CVD. This controversy is due
to the conflicting findings of the studies reviewed, with several
studies showing no association, whereas others sowing an association,
especially in subjects at high cardiovascular risk. Conclusion: There is
regarding the association of red meat consumption with the incidence of
CVD due to conflicting results of the various studies. Moderate red meat
consumption showed no association with CVD in healthy subjects, but an
association in high CVD risk subjects. Therefore, subjects at high
cardiovascular risk should refrain from high red meat consumption and
increase the intake healthier foods high in fiber content.