Eating processed red meat, like bacon and sausages, is linked to a 16% higher dementia risk. This alarming finding highlights the importance of dietary choices in protecting cognitive function as we age.

N=133,000 over 40 year time period

Observational study so limitations may apply but the findings do hold after adjusting for a large list of factors I will quote here:

educational attainments, family history of dementia, menopausal status with hormone use status, total energy intake, regular antidepressant drug use, history of depression, BMI, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, neighborhood SES [socioeconomic status], marital status, living arrangement, smoking status, histories of hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia and intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and legumes, low-fat dairy products, high-fat dairy products, and alcohol

    • Hbeog@lemm.eeEnglish
      11·
      2 days ago

      Fun fact, we have canine teeth. Which means like every other omnivor and carnivore, we as humans are designed to eat meat. Just not hugely growth hormone filled meat like modern beef and chicken and pork. We’re made to eat wild healthy God raised and not farm raised meat. But yes you alsomust maintain a balance of meat and vegetables.

      • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
        3·
        1 day ago

        Humans aren’t “designed” to do anything, they evolved over time to better suit their environments. You can get all the micro and macro nutrients you need as a vegan, and there is no physical way for every human on Earth to eat wild meat to begin with.

        • Hbeog@lemm.eeEnglish
          11·
          1 day ago

          Whatever you wanna tell yourself. I was just letting you know that just because you CAN survive on a highly specialized solely plant based diet, doesn’t mean you and everyone else on the planet SHOULD. Humans are opportunistic omnivores, always have been always willing be. there are a few examples of previous humans choosing to only eat plants, but the vast majority of them ate meat and veggies. A well balanced diet of fruits vegetables and meat is best for humans. Again thought not today’s modern, super fucked up mass farmed and processed meat.

          I can also pretty confidently say that if you were ever actually starving, you would for sure eat meat to survive without a second thought no matter how vegan you say you are. Unless you’re one of those people that would rather die than kill an animal to survive.

          And as far as the everyone couldn’t eat wild meat part, most people with a medium sized back yard could raise chickens or goats or rabbits on their own for meat. While it’s not necessarily “wild” it’s still much better than commercially farmed meat.

          • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
            2·
            1 day ago

            You’re fighting a strawman, and moreover the idea that everyone can have a medium sized back yard is again fantasy.

      • Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        5·
        4 days ago

        Stupid question - are whole plant foods just fruit and veggies and nuts, or is it also stuff like nut milks, chickpea pasta, etc?

        • AnimalsDream@slrpnk.netEnglish
          11·
          4 days ago

          When people say “whole” they’re referring to virtually any plant food that’s in it’s whole, ideally intact, form. For example in descending order:

          1. Farro is a whole grain. It’s a type of wheat, and it’s whole because all parts of the grain are still there - the bran, germ, and endosperm. This is the ideal kind of grain to eat - whole and intact.
          2. Whole wheat noodles are still a whole grain, but a bit less so because although all parts of the grain are still in it, it’s been broken down and reconstituted into a new form. The structure of plant foods in and of itself has health impacts.
          3. Whole wheat bread is still a whole grain, but quality can vary greatly depending on the ingredients and ways it gets processed. The vast majority of “whole wheat bread” is honestly dubious at best. Even more, since bread is less compressed than noodles, it digests more rapidly, and takes on properties that start to resemble refined grains more.
          4. Refined grains. Think white rice, white bread. Low fiber, low phytonutrients. These foods digest rapidly, lack important nutrients, and have a high glycemic load (high blood sugar spikes).

          Chickpea pasta would be comparable to number two on this list, so not bad. Store bought plant milks are not whole foods because the plant solids have been strained out. If you were to make a plant milk by, say, blending whole soy beans or almonds in water, that would be a whole food.

          • jol@discuss.tchncs.de
            2·
            3 days ago

            Thank you! Yes, it’s definitely a spectrum. The goal is to eat the whole plant while reducing processing that removes or destroys healthy fibers and vitamins.