If You Eat Too Much Of This Popular Protein, Your High Cholesterol Risk Goes Up – Health Digest

Dietitians and other health professionals often advise against labeling foods as strictly “good” or “bad.” But let’s face it — some foods support a healthy diet more than others, especially when it comes to your cholesterol levels. Foods like oatmeal, barley, beans, fruit, and nuts are rich in soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol.

Protein is important to help you feel full and fuel your muscles, but not all protein sources are equal when it comes to heart health. One of the worst offenders? Processed meats. Yes, that includes the savory bacon that pairs so well with, well, just about everything. And what’s a baseball game without a hot dog? Or a football tailgate without a hearty hoagie? While it’s fine to enjoy these foods occasionally, eating processed meats regularly can cause your cholesterol levels to creep up.

You might also wonder whether eggs are to blame, since they’re high in cholesterol. But a 2019 study in Nutrients took a closer look at whether it’s the cholesterol or the saturated fat in food that raises cholesterol levels in the blood. Turns out, saturated fat is the real culprit. In particular, processed meats like sausage, ham, and bacon were linked to higher LDL (bad) and total cholesterol levels.

It may help to compare the nutrition of unprocessed and processed meat. Let’s compare, ounce per ounce, cooked bacon with roast pork tenderloin. Three ounces of cooked bacon (about 8 slices) have 10 grams of saturated fat compared to the 1 gram found in the pork tenderloin. You’ll also find more than 1,400 milligrams of sodium in that bacon, whereas the pork has just 48 milligrams. 

Eating bacon every day can affect your body in many ways. A 2022 study in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine found that consuming red meat increased levels of triglycerides (but not cholesterol), but it didn’t differentiate processed and unprocessed red meat. The researchers said that medium-chain saturated fats may improve your good HDL cholesterol, but the long-chain fatty acids in red meat can increase inflammation in your blood vessels.

Processed meat usually has a lot of sodium that can lead to cell damage and poor processing of your cholesterol levels. Red meat and processed meat also have carnitine, a nutrient your body makes that supports energy production. While carnitine is important for overall health, too much carnitine can affect your gut microbiome. Your gut bacteria turn carnitine into a substance called TMAO, which can interfere with how efficiently your body removes cholesterol for weeks. It can also cause inflammation in the arteries.

Even if your heart and blood vessels are in great condition, it may still be worth cutting back on processed meats to lower your risk of other serious conditions. A 2024 review in The Lancet combined data from 31 studies examining the relationship between meat consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes. The findings showed that people who eat more meat, including chicken and turkey, have a higher risk of developing diabetes than those who eat less. In particular, every 50-gram daily serving of processed meat was associated with a 15% higher risk of type 2 diabetes. For reference, three slices of cooked bacon weigh about 36 grams.

(Here’s how processed meat can affect your cognitive health.)

The World Health Organization classifies processed meats as carcinogenic, meaning they contain substances known to cause cancer. After analyzing 10 studies, the WHO found that every 50-gram portion of processed meat is linked to an 18% higher risk of colorectal cancer. According to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, three specific chemicals in processed meats are especially harmful. Nitrates and nitrites, which are used to preserve meats, have been linked to colorectal cancer. Heterocyclic and polycyclic amines, which form when meat is cooked at high temperatures, can also damage cells in the colon and rectum. And while heme iron is naturally found in red meat, it too may play a role in increasing cancer risk.