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The health impact of substituting unprocessed red meat by pulses in the Danish diet

  • Original Contribution
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European Journal of Nutrition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Diets consisting of high amounts of animal-based protein have been associated with adverse public health effects and are often deemed environmentally unsustainable. Therefore, replacing red meat by pulses has been proposed to reduce the adverse impact on human health and environment. However, unprocessed red meat is an important source of nutrients, such as vitamin B12, iron, zinc and selenium, and the substitution may have negative impact on nutrient adequacy.

Method

Using a risk–benefit assessment (RBA) approach, we, therefore, estimated the health impact of substituting unprocessed red meat by pulses on the burden of non-communicable diseases in Denmark, using Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY). Furthermore, we assessed the impact of the substitution on nutrient adequacy.

Results

We found that 187 (95% UI: 209; 168) healthy years of life could be gained per 100,000 individuals per year by substituting 100% of unprocessed red meat by pulses in the Danish diet. We found a decrease in the intake of vitamin B12, zinc and selenium due to the substitution. An additional 10% of the Danish population will become at risk of vitamin B12 and selenium inadequacy, and an additional 20% will be at risk of zinc inadequacy due to the substitution. For iron, a small decrease in the proportion at risk of inadequacy was found.

Conclusion

Substitution of unprocessed red meat by pulses was estimated to provide a beneficial health impact on the burden of non-communicable disease, expressed in DALY. Additionally, it was found that the complete substitution will lead to a higher risk of nutrient inadequacies.

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Code availability

Code is available in Online Resource 3.

Availability of data and material

All data are freely available within the manuscript and appendices. No additional data are available.

Abbreviations

AR:

Average requirements

CI:

Confidence interval

CRC:

Colorectal cancer

CVD:

Cardiovascular diseases

DALY:

Disability-Adjusted Life Years

DANSDA:

Danish National Survey of Diet and Physical Activity

EPIC:

European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study

FAO:

Food and Agriculture Organization

FRIDA:

Food database

GBD:

Global Burden of Disease

IHD:

Ischaemic heart disease

NNR:

Nordic Nutrition Recommendation

PIF:

Potential impact fraction

RBA:

Risk–benefit assessment

RR:

Relative risk

sd:

Standard deviation

UI:

Uncertainty interval

UL:

Upper intake level

WCRF:

World Cancer Research Fund

WHO:

World Health Organization

YLD:

Years lived with disability

YLL:

Years of life lost

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Funding

The preparation of this manuscript was funded through the Metrix II project by the Ministry for Environment and Food in Denmark. The Ministry for Environment and Food in Denmark had no role in the design, analysis or writing of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Diet, Disease Prevention and Toxicology, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

    Freja Andresen Fabricius, Sofie Theresa Thomsen & Maarten Nauta

  2. Division of Risk Assessment and Nutrition, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

    Sisse Fagt

Authors
  1. Freja Andresen Fabricius
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  2. Sofie Theresa Thomsen
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  3. Sisse Fagt
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  4. Maarten Nauta
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Contributions

The study was framed by FAF, STT and MN. The model development was performed by FAF under guidance of STT and MN. The consumption data (DANSDA) was prepared by SF. The first draft of the manuscript was written by FAF and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maarten Nauta.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

The DANSDA survey has been conducted in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki and has been approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency. The Danish National Committee on Health Research Ethics has decided that, according to Danish Law, DANSDA does not require approval.

Consent to participate

Passive consent were given by participants.

Consent for publication

The DANSDA survey has been approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency and inform participants of purpose of survey.

Supplementary Information

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Fabricius, F.A., Thomsen, S.T., Fagt, S. et al. The health impact of substituting unprocessed red meat by pulses in the Danish diet. Eur J Nutr 60, 3107–3118 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02495-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02495-2

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