Eat less processed meat (ham, bacon, sausages, luncheon meat)
People who eat the most ham, bacon, and sausages have a roughly 20% higher chance of dying during the same period than those who eat the least. For every extra serving of processed meat consumed daily, that risk rises by another 20%.
It costs nothing — in fact, it saves money — and takes no…
When multiple long‑term studies are pooled together (without separating participants into groups), the group e…
It costs nothing — in fact, it saves money — and takes no extra time. The hard part is simply eating less of a food you enjoy.
When multiple long‑term studies are pooled together (without separating participants into groups), the group eating the most processed meat faces about a 23% higher death risk compared to the group eating the least (RR 1.23). For all red meat combined, the increase is about 29% (RR 1.29). Unprocessed red meat raises the risk by roughly 10% (RR 1.10), though this difference does not reach statistical significance. Another synthesis looks at daily intake: each extra daily serving of processed meat adds about a 23% higher death risk (RR 1.23), while each extra serving of red meat adds about 10% (RR 1.10).
Larsson SC, Orsini N (2014). Red meat and processed meat consumption and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis. American Journal of Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwt261；Schwingshackl L 等 (2017). Food groups and risk of all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.117.153148；Johnston BC 等 (2019). Unprocessed Red Meat and Processed Meat Consumption: Dietary Guideline Recommendations From the NutriRECS Consortium. Annals of Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.7326/M19-1621（争议方 NutriRECS 指南）
Open source linkThis is a contentious topic. The NutriRECS guidelines apply the standard GRADE evidence‑rating system and deem these studies “moderately reliable.” They offer only a very weak recommendation: “continue eating as you currently do.” The debate centers on whether the evidence is strong enough, not on the overall direction of the findings. No studies have shown any benefit from eating processed meat, and the effect of unprocessed red meat appears minimal and statistically insignificant. The focus should be on cutting back on processed meat.