Red meat is natural source of protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins and it delivers many health benfits . But according to a new study, consuming red and processed meats even in small amounts may increase the risk of death from all causes, especially cardiovascular disease.

The lead author of the study Saeed Mastour Alshahrani said that the research fills an important gap left by previous studies that looked at relatively higher levels of red meat intake and compared them with low intakes. The results of the study were published in the journal 'Nutrients'.

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He said, "A question about the effect of lower levels of intakes compared to no-meat eating remained unanswered,"  He further added that , "We wanted to take a closer look at the association of low intakes of red and processed meat with all-cause, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer mortality compared to those who didn't eat meat at all," the author added.

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The study evaluated the deaths of over 7,900 individuals over an 11-year period. Diet was assessed by a validated quantitative food frequency questionnaire and mortality outcome data were obtained from the National Death Index. Of those individuals who consumed meat, 90 per cent of them only ate about two ounces or less of red meat per day.

The resechers concluded that the findings give additional weight to the evidence already suggesting that eating red and processed meat may negatively impact health and lifespan.