The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has been increasing worldwide for years, since according to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1980 there were 108 million diabetics and in 2014 there were already 422 million people living with the disease. disease. The high rates of obesity and the aging of the population are some of the reasons that explain this increase, but even people with a normal weight can develop this pathology if they do not take care of their diet and do not do physical exercise.
The type of diet is one of the risk factors associated with its appearance, and now a new study led by researchers at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health (USA) has found that people who eat only two servings of meat red per week may have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who eat a smaller amount, and that the risk increases with greater consumption.
“Our findings strongly support dietary guidelines that recommend limiting red meat consumption, and this applies to both processed and unprocessed red meat,” said first author Xiao Gu, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Nutrition.
Participants who ate the most red meat had a 62% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate the least
The results have been published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and also show that replacing red meat with healthy protein sources based on vegetables, dried fruits such as walnuts, and legumes, or small amounts of dairy was associated with less risk of type 2 diabetes.
Diet changes that benefit health and the environment
Other studies had already found a link between red meat consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes, but the new research, which analyzed a large number of cases of type 2 diabetes among participants who were followed for an extended period of time ( years), adds a higher level of certainty about the association. Researchers analyzed health data from 216,695 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS), NHS II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS). Diet was assessed with food frequency questionnaires every two to four years, for up to 36 years. During that period more than 22,000 participants developed type 2 diabetes.
The researchers found that consumption of red meat, including processed and unprocessed red meat, was strongly associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Participants who ate the most red meat had a 62% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in compared to those who ate the least. Each additional daily serving of processed red meat was associated with a 46% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and each additional daily serving of unprocessed red meat was associated with a 24% increased risk.
The researchers also evaluated the possible impact of replacing one daily serving of red meat with another protein source and found that replacing one serving of red meat with nuts and legumes was associated with a 30% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, while substituting one serving of red meat per dairy product was associated with a 22% lower risk.
Based on our findings and other previous work, a limit of about one serving per week of red meat would be reasonable for people who want to optimize their health and well-being, said Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition, and other of the main authors of the study.
The researchers conclude that, in addition to the health benefits, replacing red meat with healthy plant protein sources would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and provide other benefits to the environment.
