Cutting down on bacon and sausages can slash the risk of dementia.
Sausages have been identified as a cause of dementia
Researchers in the US have found that swapping one serving of red meat per day for an option such as nuts, beans or tofu can reduce the chances of the disease by 20 per cent.
Experts at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health tracked the dietary habits of over 130,000 nurses and other healthcare professionals over a period of 43 years.
Those who ate two servings of processed red meat each week were 14 per cent more likely to develop dementia compared to those who only consumed three servings a month.
Yuhan Li, a research assistant at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and lead author of the study, said: "Study results have been mixed on whether there is a relationship between cognitive decline and meat consumption in general, so we took a closer look at how eating different amounts of both processed and unprocessed meat affects cognitive risk and function.
"By studying people over a long period of time, we found that eating processed red meat could be a significant risk factor for dementia.
"Dietary guidelines could include recommendations limiting it to promote brain health."