In April 2019 researchers from the UK, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, The Netherlands, France, Italy and Greece published the results of their studies to assess the association of meat, fish, dairy products and eggs on risk of ischaemic heart disease. A total of 409,885 individuals from 9 European countries were included. Information on diet was collected via questionnaire and 24-hour recall. During an average follow-up period of 13 years, 7,198 individuals either had a heart attack or died from ischaemic heart disease. Results showed that for each 100 g/day increase in red and processed meat there was an increase in risk of ischaemic heart disease. whilst each 100 g/day increase in yoghurt, 30 g/day increase in cheese and 20 g/day increase in eggs reduced the risk. Poultry, fish and milk did not appear to be significantly associated with risk of ischaemic heart disease. A further analysis revealed that replacing 100 kcal/day of red and processed meat with 100 kcal/d fatty fish, yoghurt, cheese or eggs was associated with approximately a 20% reduced risk of ischaemic heart disease.
Key TJ et al. Consumption of Meat, Fish, Dairy Products, Eggs and Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease: A Prospective Study of 7198 Incident Cases Among 409,885 Participants in the Pan-European EPIC Cohort. Circulation. 2019 Apr 22. [Epub ahead of print]