Eating too much red meat could increase your chances of dying at a younger age.

A new study by the Harvard School of Public Health found eating just one serving of unprocessed red meat a day can increase your risk of early death by 13 percent.
    
HSPH researchers from found that processed red meat was even worse. A daily serving of bacon or hot dogs was associated with a 20 percent increase in the chance of death.

Doctors also warned about portions, saying one serving of processed meat is equivalent to the size of deck of cards.

"This study provides clear evidence that regular consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, contributes substantially to premature death," Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and co-author of the study, said.

"On the other hand," he added, "choosing more healthful sources of protein in place of red meat can confer significant health benefits by reducing chronic disease morbidity and mortality."
    
The study found swapping a serving of red meat for chicken or fish could decrease the risk of early death by as much as 19 percent.

The study, published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, was based on analysis of the diets of more than 121,000 people over the course of 28 years.