Processed red meat products and sugary drinks should be avoided at all costs as there is a direct link between consumption of these products and an increased risk of cardiovascular and cancer mortality, a new study says.

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found that red meat, particularly processed meat, is full of ingredients, such as heme iron, sodium, nitrites, saturated fat as well as certain carcinogens, which increases the risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer.

An Pan, the study's lead author, said, "Our study adds more evidence to the health risks of eating high amounts of red meat, which has been associated with Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers in other studies."

Researchers also found that avid drinkers of the sugary beverages tended to have higher levels of perilous blood fats and proteins that have already been linked to heart disease. The sugary drinks also lower the levels of `good' cholesterol.

According to the study, eating one daily serving of unprocessed red meat increases the risk of morality by 13 per cent; while eating one daily serving of processed red meat, such as two slices of bacon, increases the risk of morality by 20 per cent.

The study was published online last week in Archives of Internal Medicine.