Overconsumption of processed meat greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, which can be fatal.
- Cardiovascular disease is a pathology that affects the heart and blood vessels.
- An estimated 17.7 million deaths are attributable to cardiovascular disease, or 31% of total global mortality.
Eating just two sausages a week increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and early death, according to new international research.
51% increase in risk of death
The team, led by experts from McMaster University and Canada’s Hamilton Health Sciences, analyzed the diets and health status of 134,297 people, living in 21 different countries, intentionally selected from five continents (Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Sweden, China…).
Conclusion: they found a 46% increase in the risk of serious cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes (cerebrovascular accidents), as well as a 51% increase in the risk of death in people who consumed at least 150 g of processed meat per week, compared to those who ate no processed meat.
What are processed meats?
“If you consider 75g of a single sausage, that’s two sausages a week, but the risk applies to any form of processed meat,” warn the experts. Processed meats are those that have been preserved by smoking, salting or adding chemical preservatives. These include, for example, pâté, salami or even bacon.
The leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes a number of disorders affecting the heart and blood vessels such as:
· high blood pressure (raised blood pressure);
· coronary heart disease (heart attack or infarction);
cerebrovascular disease (stroke);
· peripheral arterial disease;
· heart failure;
· rheumatic heart disease;
· congenital heart disease;
cardiomyopathies.
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