Could Eating a Little More Meat Help You Stave Off Alzheimer’s Disease?
A new study found that eating more meat was linked to better cognitive health in people at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. But the research has some limitations.
A new Swedish study suggests that older people with a higher genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease might be able to maintain better long-term brain health if they get a little more meat in their diet.
The researchers focused on older people who carried the APOE4 genetic variant, a gene that raises Alzheimer’s risk.
But the study doesn’t say that a diet high in meat by American standards is beneficial for brain health, or suggest that all kinds of meat are the same: Participants who ate more processed meat, regardless of their genes, had a higher risk of dementia than people who ate less of it.
Can Meat Protect the Brain?
The study observed more than 2,100 adults ages 60 and older for up to 15 years. None of the participants had dementia at the start.
They filled out food questionnaires to track their diet. Researchers then compared diets with changes in participants’ cognitive function and dementia status over time, adjusting for factors like age, education, and lifestyle.
The study categorized red meat (beef and pork) and poultry (chicken and turkey) as unprocessed and identified deli meats, bacon, and sausage as processed.
Participants were divided into five groups based on the total amount of meat they ate. Those at the low end ate a little more than 1 ounce a day while those at the high end ate about 4.5 ounces of meat a day, or less than an average-sized chicken breast.
Americans eat about twice that amount every day.
“The highest meat eating group was not even close to a ketogenic or carnivore diet,” says lead author Jakob Norgen, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
The researchers found that, among participants who carried one or two copies of the high-risk APOE4 gene, those who ate the most meat did not experience the same cognitive decline over the 15 year study period as participants who ate the least meat, says Dr. Norgen.
The findings suggest that unprocessed meat may provide some brain-protective effects for people with higher genetic risk.
However, people who ate the most processed meat had a higher risk of dementia, regardless of which APOE genes they carried.
Nitrates in Processed Meat May Be Harmful to the Brain
Hussein Yassine, MD, a professor of neurology and director of the Center for Personalized Brain Health at the USC Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, says the findings may reflect how processed versus unprocessed meats affect the brain.
“Additives such as nitrates in processed red meat have a damaging effect on the brain, as opposed to nutritious unprocessed red meat,” says Dr. Yassine, who wasn’t involved in the study. “This distinction is important.”
By contrast, whole, unprocessed cuts of meat provide nutrients such as protein, iron, zinc, B vitamins, and choline, Yassine says. Diets that prioritize unprocessed foods more broadly offer significant long-term benefits for brain health, he adds, especially for people who carry APOE4 genes.
The Study Has Limitations
The study also had significant limitations, Yassine says. It was observational, which means researchers tracked health outcomes over time without any kind of intervention, like asking one group to take a medicine or follow a certain diet compared with a control group.
This kind of study can’t prove that eating more meat caused certain brain benefits, only that there is a link. It’s possible there are other other factors that influenced cognition and dementia risk that researchers couldn’t account for.
Yassine also notes that the study relied on self-reported food diaries, which can be inaccurate.
How Diet May Interact With Genetic Risk
Previous research supports the idea that diet and genetics interact, says Michael Lutz, PhD, a neurology professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, who wasn’t involved in the new study.
Similar patterns have been observed in large studies such as the UK Biobank, he says.
But the new study doesn’t align with much of the previous research on diet and dementia risk, Dr. Lutz says.
For example, one recent study found that eating more red meat, especially processed red meat, was associated with a higher risk of developing dementia and worse cognition.
According to Lutz, one possible explanation for the latest findings may involve heart health. In the Swedish study, higher meat intake was linked to lower cholesterol levels and a lower ratio of saturated to polyunsaturated fat — factors that are closely tied to better brain health.
How Genes Shape Alzheimer’s Risk
The APOE gene helps determine how the body processes fats and cholesterol. There are several versions of the gene, including APOE2, APOE3, and APOE4. Everyone carries two copies, one inherited from each parent.
About 50 percent of all people carry two copies of APOE3, which is tied to average Alzheimer’s risk.
Between 25 and 30 percent of people carry at least one copy of APOE4. People with one copy face 3 or 4 times the risk; people with two copies develop Alzheimer's at more than 10 times the frequency of people with two APOE3 copies.
Still, most adults who carry one copy of the APOE4 don’t wind up with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
“Genetic predisposition is a relative risk, not a definitive prognosis that you will show symptoms of Alzheimer’s at a given age,” says Lutz.
Expert Advice on Lowering Your Risk for Alzheimer’s
Healthy habits that may help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s are similar regardless of genetic risk — though it may be especially important to adopt these earlier in life for people who have more risk factors, including the APOE4 variant, says Lutz.
He suggests the following evidence-based strategies:
Take good care of your heart, including by managing your blood pressure and cholesterol
Lutz recommends (and actually follows himself) the MIND diet, which has been linked to slower cognitive decline in studies. This diet emphasizes:
Leafy green vegetables and other vegetables
Berries
Whole grains
Fish and poultry
Nuts and olive oil
It also limits red meat, butter, cheese, sweets, and fried or fast food.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
Norgren J et al. Meat Consumption and Cognitive Health by APOE Genotype. JAMA Network Open. March 19, 2026.
Meat Consumption in the U.S.: Is It Increasing or Decreasing? Sentient:Health. December 22, 2023.
Yassine H. Why the New Food Pyramid Matters—Especially for the Brain. Yassine Laboratory. January 16, 2026.
Argentieri MA et al. Integrating the Environment and Genetic Architectures of Aging and Mortality. Nature Medicine. February 19, 2025.
Li Y et al. Long-Term Intake of Red Meat in Relation to Dementia Risk and Cognitive Function in US Adults. Neurology. January 15, 2025.
Rethinking Alzheimer’s: Why This Common Gene Variant Is Bad for Your Brain. Stanford Medicine News Center. September 22, 2025.
Tom Gavin joined Everyday Health as copy chief in 2022 after a lengthy stint as a freelance copy editor. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology from College of the Holy Cross.
Prior to working for Everyday Health, he wrote, edited, copy edited, and fact-checked for books, magazines, and digital content covering a range of topics, including women's health, lifestyle, recipes, restaurant reviews, travel, and more. His clients have included Frommer's, Time-Life, and Google, among others.
He lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he likes to spend his time making music, fixing too-old electronics, and having fun with his family and the dog who has taken up residence in their home.
Becky Upham has worked throughout the health and wellness world for over 25 years. She's been a race director, a team recruiter for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a salesperson for a major pharmaceutical company, a blogger for Moogfest, a communications manager for Mission Health, a fitness instructor, and a health coach.
Upham majored in English at the University of North Carolina and has a master's in English writing from Hollins University.
Upham enjoys teaching cycling classes, running, reading fiction, and making playlists.
