A big study from Harvard found that eating just two servings of red meat per week can raise your chances of getting type 2 diabetes when you’re older. If you eat even more red meat, the risk goes up even more. This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on Thursday.
Xiao Gu, the first author of the study and a researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, explained that this link between red meat and type 2 diabetes has been seen in different places around the world. With this study, they used better methods and data to make this connection stronger. The hope is that this research will help clear up whether we should be careful about how much red meat we eat for our health.
About 462 million people worldwide are affected by type 2 diabetes, a rate that has been rapidly increasing, the authors said.
Preventing diabetes is really important because it’s a serious problem on its own. Plus, it raises the chances of getting other serious health issues like heart and kidney problems, cancer, and memory problems. That’s what Gu explained.
They looked at how eating red meat affects diabetes risk over a long time. They checked out 216,695 people who were in different health studies for nurses and professionals that started in the late 1970s to late 1980s. These studies were all about figuring out what things make people more likely to have big health problems.
The people in the study were mostly White. At the start of the study, they were about 46 years old in one group, 36 in another, and 53 in the last. The study kept track of them until at least 2017. Every couple of years, the participants answered questions about their health, and they also shared what kinds of foods and drinks they usually had in a year.
At the end of the study, almost 22,800 people got type 2 diabetes. They found that those who ate the most red meat were 62% more likely to get the disease compared to those who ate the least. It was also discovered that eating a lot of processed or unprocessed red meat was linked to a 51% and 40% higher risk of type 2 diabetes, respectively.
Processed meat included things like sausage, hot dogs, bacon, and sandwiches with processed meats. An example of one serving would be about 28 grams of bacon or 45 grams of the other meats.
Unprocessed meat included things like lean or extra lean hamburger, regular hamburger, and dishes with beef, pork, or lamb. For example, one serving would be about 85 grams of pork, beef, or lamb.
The study, which looked at a lot of information, supports the advice we already have about eating less red meat. Alice Lichtenstein, a professor at Tufts University in Boston, who wasn’t part of the study, mentioned this.
They also found that if you replace a serving of meat with nuts or legumes (like beans), it lowers your risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 30%. If you choose dairy instead, it reduces the chances by 22%.
It’s important to mention that people who said they ate red meat most often in each group tended to eat less fish and fruit, and they also ate more calories. They weighed more and didn’t do as much physical activity. This indicates that their overall diet wasn’t very healthy, and they weren’t as likely to have good lifestyle habits. This insight comes from Lichtenstein, who also leads a lab at Tufts University focused on heart health and nutrition.
The relationship between meat and diabetes
The study doesn’t show that eating red meat directly causes type 2 diabetes, according to Gunter Kuhnle, a nutrition professor from the University of Reading in the UK who wasn’t part of the study.
However, there are certain biological reasons why red meat might be linked to type 2 diabetes. Firstly, red meat has a type of fat called saturated fat, which can make the body less sensitive to insulin. Insulin helps control our blood sugar levels.
Secondly, red meat contains a kind of iron called heme iron. This type of iron, when coming from animal foods, can make it harder for insulin to work properly and can also cause stress on the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. This can lead to problems with blood sugar control. Additionally, heme iron can lead to an imbalance between harmful molecules called free radicals and protective substances called antioxidants in the body, which can be harmful to our cells.
Eating a lot of red meat can lead to higher levels of a natural amino acid called glycine, which is linked to a higher risk of diabetes. Red meat is also associated with gaining extra body fat, which is another factor that raises the risk of diabetes. To cut down on red meat, you can either eat it less often or have smaller portions, or both, suggests Lichtenstein.
If you’re looking for alternatives to red meat, dairy products, legumes (like beans and lentils), and nuts are good choices. Lichtenstein recommends going for low-fat or fat-free dairy options due to concerns about saturated fat and its impact on insulin production.
Considering the results, it’s a good idea to aim for about one serving of red meat per week for better health, suggests Dr. Walter C. Willett, a professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who led the study.
Making a switch to plant-based sources of protein not only benefits your health but also helps in reducing harmful emissions that contribute to climate change, according to Gu. It’s a win-win for both your health and the environment.
SOURCE:CNN