Meat has long been a dietary staple – so much so that many people in the UK don’t consider a meal complete without it. But when it comes to our health, is such regular meat consumption wise? Many large studies have demonstrated the dangers of eating a lot of meat – particularly red and processed – and now a new study has shown that it could have a negative effect on our gut microbiome.
A large Swedish study, published in Clinical Nutrition (2025), investigated how different types of meat affect the gut microbiota in nearly 10,000 adults. Researchers found that eating lots of red and processed meat was linked to a less diverse gut microbiota and changes in bacteria that could fuel inflammation, poor metabolism, and weaker immunity. These shifts could partly explain the links between red and processed meat and chronic diseases. Multiple large-scale studies have linked high consumption of red and processed meat with an increased risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers (especially colorectal), and overall mortality.
