Say cheese! – and red meat. You’ll live longer

JUST when you thought you knew what a healthy diet was, experts are telling us cheese and red meat are back on the ‘good-for-you’ menu.

It comes after a major study showed daily consumption can actually extend your life.

Data from 220,000 adults around the world showed eating three portions of dairy and a small serving of unprocessed meat a day cut the risk of early death by 25%.

Scientists said the findings – presented to a conference of 30,000 cardiologists in Munich yesterday – ‘challenge conventional wisdom’ after years of advice to cut down on full-fat dairy and red meat.

The study suggests a healthy diet would include nearly twice as much red meat and nearly three times as much dairy as that suggested by health authorities in the UK.

The authors – led by the McMaster University in Canada – said people who cut out meat and dairy simply replaced it with refined, processed carbohydrates such as bread and sugar. Current guidance says dairy should make up just 8% of a person’s daily calorie intake – allowing just one portion of dairy, such as a single yoghurt or two small slices of cheese. And red meat consumption should be limited to 70g (2.5 ounces) a day.

The new global study found that eating higher levels of meat and dairy would actually be healthier.

It suggested the healthiest diets included three portions of dairy, which could mean two slices of cheese, a small pot of full-fat yoghurt and half a pint of whole milk – roughly 25% of calorific intake. And it also included 4.5 ounces (120g) of unprocessed red meat – such as a small steak the size of a deck of cards.

Professor Salim Yusuf of McMaster, presenting his findings at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Munich, said: ‘The thinking on what constitutes a high-quality diet for a global population needs to be reconsidered.

‘Our results show that dairy products and meat are beneficial for heart health and longevity. This differs from current dietary advice.’ The team stressed that those with the healthiest outcomes also had to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, as well as a moderate amount of carbohydrates such as pasta and rice.

Fellow researcher Dr Andrew Mente said that after years of debates about the relative benefits of fat and carbohydrates, the focus should now shift to simply eating good, wholesome, unprocessed food.

‘Our findings on full-fat dairy and unprocessed red meat do challenge conventional thinking,’ he said.

He believes part of the benefit of meat and dairy is that a moderate amount of saturated fat – which is found in butter, cheese and red meat – actually protects the heart.

As well as giving energy, fat is needed to carry vitamins and also provides the body with essential acids. But Dr Mente said the time had come to stop arguing about the fat-versus-carbohydrate debate and look at the quality of the food that people consume. ‘Rather than looking at nutrients, the focus should be on foods,’ he said.

The study included people from 52 countries around the world who were tracked for nine years.

Cuts early death risk by 25%