- A new study showed that eating more than one weekly serving of red meat may raise type 2 diabetes risk.
- Consuming more plant-based protein sources in place of red meat may lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- A high BMI is a risk factor for diabetes, and plant-based diets are associated with lower body weight.
With cases of type 2 diabetes on the rise in the United States, this health condition is becoming a serious health concern. Diet is one factor that plays a major role in the development of type 2 diabetes.
According to a new study, people who eat just two servings of red meat per week may have an elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who eat fewer servings.
The results of the study also indicated that eating more plant-based foods such as nuts and legumes instead of red meat was linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
“Our findings strongly support dietary guidelines that recommend limiting the consumption of red meat, and this applies to both processed and unprocessed red meat,” lead author Xiao Gu, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Nutrition, said in a press release.
One of the reasons is that red meat contains more saturated fat compared to other protein sources.
“Saturated fat may affect beta cell function and insulin sensitivity, which in the longer term might lead to hyperglycemia/diabetes,” said Dr. Mireille Serlie, Ph.D., an endocrinologist with Yale School of Medicine.
“Also, saturated fat can affect brain areas that regulate food intake,” she told Medical News Today.
Serlie explained that eating too much saturated fat for a longer period of time, and especially in combination with sugar, can negatively impact the brain’s ability to adjust food intake to caloric needs, resulting in overeating.
As noted by the researchers, BMI is linked to red meat intake and type 2 diabetes.
Looking at caloric intake in the different cohorts (table 1 in the paper), people who reported the highest intake of…
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