A major study reveals whether eating meat will help you live to be 100

Americans are often told to cut back on steak to avoid heart disease and diabetes.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands are still turning to veganism in the hope that it will help them live healthier and better lives.

But now a growing body of research seems to be reaching the same consensus. Despite the anti-meat scare stories, you are more likely to live longer by eating meat. Specifically, you may have a better chance of living to 100.

The latest paper reporting this finding studied the diets of 5,200 people – including 1,500 centenarians – across China.

It found that those who ate a more varied diet weekly, including meat, were 23 percent more likely to be centenarians than their peers who ate a more restrictive diet.

It adds to other recent evidence, including one Australian paper from 2022 on meat consumption and life expectancy by country, that life expectancy is higher in nations that, on average, consume more meat.

About 81 percent of Americans are meat eaters, with meat considered an excellent source of both muscle-building protein and a host of other essential nutrients.

These include vitamin B12, which is not found in plants and is used by the body to help make energy from food and keep our blood cells healthy.

Experts say meat is also a rich source of iron, which helps red blood cells carry oxygen around the body.

The USDA’s Dietary Guidelines recommend two to three servings of meat each day, with daily servings equivalent to a small steak or one chicken breast.

In the Australian 2022 study, researchers compared the life expectancy of 170 nations with the amount of meat consumed in the diet according to surveys.

Lead researcher Dr Arthur Saniotis said: ‘While this may not surprise many of us, it still needs to be pointed out.

“It highlights that meat has its own components that contribute to our overall health beyond the number of calories consumed, and that without meat in our diet we could not thrive.”

And in another 2015 paper, researchers found that those living in a The “Blue Zone”—areas with above-average centenarians—ate more meat than their coastal neighbors.

The study was based on the people who lived in the blue mountain area of ​​Sardinia, compared to the coastal area of ​​the area.

And in a third meta-analysis from November last year, researchers found that people who had been vegetarian for 10 years had a 20 percent higher risk of dying from any cause than those who ate meat.

Scientists warn of the dangers of eating too much meat – especially red meat.

Previous studies have linked eating a serving of red meat each day to a higher risk of colon cancer, but separate papers have also linked red meat consumption to a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

Researchers say it is also important to consume vegetables and whole grain carbohydrates because they contain fiber and essential nutrients for the body, such as magnesium – which are involved in muscle movement.

Many people say that a balanced diet, including meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, is the best way to ensure a long and healthy life.

In the Chinese study, published today in JAMA Network Open, researchers found that those who ate the most varied diets were more likely to live longer.

The study was based on data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey.

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Participants were recruited in 1998 at the age of 80 or older and then examined every few years.

For the analysis, each centenarian in the database was matched with at least two individuals who had died before reaching centenarian status.

The participants were 94 years old on average, mostly women, and lived in almost all provinces of China.

To measure dietary diversity, participants were asked how often they ate nine food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, soybeans and their products, eggs, meat, fish, milk and milk products and oil.

The results showed that those who ate all nine food groups at least weekly were more likely to live to be 100.

The analysis also found that never smoking and exercising more made it more likely that someone would live to their centenary.

But that education, marital status and alcohol consumption in later years made little or no difference to how long someone lived.