Replace some red meat with fish or poultry
Two additional weekly servings of processed or red meat were associated with about 3% higher mortality; equivalent servings of fish or poultry showed no increase. This is a relatively small effect, worth an easy swap rather than an elaborate effort.
What it takes
A substitution rather than an extra purchase, with no extra time. Adjusting food preferences is the challenge.
What you may gain
A pooled analysis of 6 US cohorts involving nearly 30,000 people found mortality ratios of 1.03 per 2 extra weekly servings of processed meat (95% CI 1.02–1.05) and 1.03 for unprocessed red meat (1.01–1.05). For poultry the ratio was 0.99 (0.97–1.02), and for fish 0.99 (0.97–1.01), neither statistically different.
Context & considerations
The difference per two weekly servings is small; do not expect this substitution alone to add years of life. When spending a similar amount on meat, favor fish or poultry.
Research & references
Zhong VW, Van Horn L, Greenland P, et al. (2020). Associations of Processed Meat, Unprocessed Red Meat, Poultry, or Fish Intake With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality. JAMA Internal Medicine, 180(4), 503-512. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.6969