A diet rich in red and processed meat can pose several health risks, including an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. That’s what doctors would tell you when advising dietary changes and more exercise to improve your overall health and reduce the risks of developing cardiovascular conditions and diabetes.
But there’s a new study that sheds further light on the daily quantities of red and processed meat that can become a significant risk for type 2 diabetes.
Cambridge researchers have analyzed data from nearly 2 million patients spread across the world, of which more than 100,000 had diabetes. They concluded that consuming 50g or more of processed meat a day, or the equivalent of 2 slices of ham, was associated with a 15% risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years.
That’s not the only conclusion from the study regarding the daily consumption of meat. The researchers found that eating 100g of unprocessed red meat a day was associated with a 10% higher risk of developing diabetes. As The Guardian points out, that’s the equivalent of eating a small steak.
Poultry is largely seen as safer than red and processed meat, but it also comes with risk. Regular consumption of 100g of poultry meat per day leads to an 8% risk of developing the illness.
The researchers analyzed various scenarios and found the association between red/processed meat and diabetes held true. However, the association between poultry and diabetes became weaker under those scenarios. More research is needed to understand the risks associated with regular poultry consumption and diabetes.
The researchers used data from 31 study groups through the EU’s InterConnect study. Rather than piling up the conclusions of each study, they analyzed data from each individual patient in the study. They were able to account for all sorts of factors that might have impacted the association between meat consumption and diabetes.
Professor Nick Wareham told The Guardian this novelty allowed the researchers to “provide more concrete evidence of the link between consumption of different types of meat and type 2 diabetes than was previously possible.” Wareham was one of the study’s senior authors.
A recent wave of newly published research concerning diabetes indicates that a cure might not be far off. Some researchers have found ways to reactivate the pancreas’s insulin production powers to cure the illness. Others focus on very low-calorie diets based on mostly liquid foods. There’s also research on smart insulin therapies that could help type 1 diabetes patients manage their condition better.
However, neither type 2 nor type 1 diabetes is currently treatable. However, you can prevent, delay, and manage diabetes. Studies like this one can provide new guidance on how to tackle prevention.
Rather than eating two slices of ham every day, you might want to cut back or combine ham with poultry. The Guardian says that the NHS already advises people who consume more than 90g of red meat (beef, lamb, mutton, pork, veal, venison, and goat) and processed meat (sausage, bacon, ham, salami, corned beef) a day to cut down to under 70g.
Another option is replacing some of that protein source with alternatives that do not involve any kind of meat.
Behavioral changes, like being more active, can also help reduce the risk of diabetes. Burning calories would reduce the risk of developing obesity, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
The full study is available in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.
