A new study published in Neurology found an excess intake of processed red meats -- like bacon -- to be associated with a higher risk of developing dementia.

Along with bacon, researchers defined processed red meat as bacon, hot dogs, sausages, salami, bologna, and other processed meat products.

The team of Harvard researchers performed a dementia analysis of over 133,000 adults with an average baseline age of just under 50 years old.

Data was drawn from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, and 43 years of detailed health information -- including food diaries from participants.

Researchers found that participants who regularly consumed at least a quarter of a serving of processed red meat -- about 3 ounces, or two slices of bacon -- had a 13 percent higher risk of dementia, compared to those consuming less than one-tenth of a serving each day.

Dementia has become a prominent issue in the United States. 6.7 million Americans age 65 and older were living with Alzheimer's dementia in 2023, according to the Alzheimer's Association. This number could grow to 13.8 million by 2060.

Red meat is high in saturated fat and has been shown in previous studies to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which are both linked to reduced brain health, said Dong Wang, M.D., Sc.D., study co-author and an assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard.

"Our study found processed red meat may increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, but the good news is that it also found that replacing it with healthier alternatives, like nuts, fish and poultry, may reduce a person's risk," he said.