Study compares death risk from plant, red meat protein

Scientists led by Mingyang Song at Massachusetts General Hospital analyzed data from two major studies involving more than 150,000 participants to determine whether people who consumed protein from red and processed meats had a significantly higher mortality rate than those who got their protein from plants.

The analysis of the 32-year Nurses' Health Study, followed by the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study at Harvard University, looked at diets of the participants every four years.

Song's team found that a 10 percent increase in proteins from animals resulted in a 2 percent increase in mortality overall, and an 8 percent rise in death risk from heart disease. But a 3 percent increase in protein from plants led to a 10 percent decrease in mortality and a 12 percent drop in risk of death from cardiovascular mortality.

That said, "I wouldn't suggest that everyone switch to vegan," Song added. That's because certain meats - chicken and fish, for example - carried a much lower mortality risk than red and processed meats.

- Washington Post