The research was published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association.
Previous research has shown that a diet high in red meat is associated with a risk of cardiovascular disease, yet the data are sparse and inconclusive about certain types of proteins, the study’s authors say.
In this study, researchers analyzed data from more than 100,000 postmenopausal women (ages 50 to 79) who participated in the National Women’s Health Initiative study between 1993 and 1998; they were followed through February 2017. At the time of enrolling in the study, participants completed questionnaires about their diet describing how often they ate eggs, milk, poultry, red meat, fish / shellfish and plant proteins such as tofu, nuts, beans and peas. During the study period, a total of 25,976 deaths (6,993 deaths from cardiovascular disease; 7,516 deaths from cancer; and 2,734 deaths from dementia).
Researchers noted the levels and types of protein that women said they ate, divided them into groups to compare who would eat the least and who would eat. eat most of all proteins. The median percentage intake of total energy from animal protein in this population was 7.5 percent in the lowest reed and 16.0 percent in the highest reed. The median percentage intake of total energy from plant proteins in this population was 3.5% in the lowest reed and 6.8% in the highest reed.
Key findings include:
-Compared to postmenopausal women who had the lowest plant protein intake, all causes had a 9% lower risk of death, a 12% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 21% lower risk of joint death associated with dementia.
-Higher consumption of processed red meat is associated with a 20% higher risk of dying from dementia.
Higher consumption of unprepared meat, eggs, and dairy products was associated with a higher risk of death from 12%, 24% and 11% of deaths from cardiovascular disease, respectively.
-Higher egg consumption is associated with a 10% higher risk of death from cancer.
However, higher egg consumption was associated with a 14% lower risk of dying from dementia, while higher chicken consumption was associated with a 15% lower risk.
“It is not clear in our study why eggs were associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular death and cancer,” said lead study author Wei Bao, MD, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
“It could be related to the way people cook and eat eggs. Eggs can be boiled, scrambled, poached, baked, cooked, cooked fried, thirsty or pickled or in combination with other foods In the United States, people usually eat eggs in the form of fried eggs and often with other foods such as bacon. has carefully accounted for many potentially difficult factors in the analysis, it is still difficult to fully ascertain whether it is eggs, other foods they usually eat with eggs, or even -dietary factors associated with egg consumption, may lead to an increased risk for cardiovascular death and cancer. ”
Researchers noted that substituting whole red meat, eggs or dairy products with nuts was associated with a 12% to 47% lower risk of death from all causes depending on the type of protein contained in the nuts.
“It is important to note that diet proteins are not consumed in isolation, so the interpretation of these decisions can be challenging and should be based on consideration of the overall diet including different cooking methods, ”said Yangbo Sun, MD, Ph.D. , co-author of the study, a graduate research scholar at the University of Iowa in Iowa City and currently an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
The analysis also found that women who ate the highest levels of animal protein such as meat and milk were more likely to be white with higher education and income, and were more likely to be white. smoking, drinking more alcohol and being less physically active. In addition, these women were more likely to have Type 2 diabetes at the start of the study, a family history of heart attacks and a higher body index – all risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
“Our findings support the need to consider dietary protein sources in future diet management,” Bao said. “The current diet guidelines are largely focused on the total amount of protein, and our findings show that there may be different health effects associated with different types of protein foods. ”
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), recommends eating a variety of protein foods: low-fat meats, low-fat chicken, eggs, seafood , beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds and soy products include at least 8 ounces of cooked seafood per week.
AHA’s cardiovascular and cardiovascular risk counseling counseling notes that, given the relatively high content of cholesterol in egg yolks, it makes sense to limit intake. Healthy people can take up to one whole egg or similar each day.
The study had several limitations including that it was observational, based on self-report data at the beginning of the study and lacked data on how the proteins were cooked. In addition, the decisions may not apply to younger women or men.