2 bacon baps a week ‘raises chance of a heart attack’

CRISPY rashers sandwiched between thickly sliced bread and a dollop of ketchup ... there can be few more satisfying ways to start the day.

But eating just two bacon butties a week could increase the risk of suffering a fatal heart attack or a stroke, a study suggests.

People who ate 150g or more of processed meat each week were 46 per cent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. They were also 51 per cent more likely to die during the ten-year study period than those who ate none.

But the research, led by McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, found no such links with poultry or unprocessed red meat.

Processed meat is any which is preserved such as bacon, sausages and ham – and 150g of meat is equal to about five bacon rashers or two-and-aquarter sausages.

The scientists analysed data from 134,297 people in 21 countries spanning five continents.

Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers said ‘limiting the intake of processed meat should be encouraged’.