Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A large new study conducted by Harvard researchers shows consuming two servings of red meat per week increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. This is the result of research published Thursday (19/10/2023) in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The authors say about 462 million people worldwide have type 2 diabetes, and this number continues to increase rapidly. This research into the link between red meat and type 2 diabetes risk is not new, but the authors of the latest study wanted to improve on the old one by adding details about how diabetes diagnosis is affected by red meat intake over a long period of time.
The study looked at the relationship between red meat and type 2 diabetes in different populations around the world. The authors studied 216,695 people who had participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, recruited from 1976 to 1989.
In the following period, nearly 22,800 people had type 2 diabetes, and those who ate the most red meat had a 62% higher risk of developing the disease, compared with people who ate the least.
According to the study, consuming processed or unprocessed red meat was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, namely 51% and 40% respectively.
Meanwhile, professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading in England Gunter Kuhnle believes this research does not prove that eating red meat causes type 2 diabetes. He was not involved in this research.
But the study authors say several biological factors could influence the link between red meat and type 2 diabetes.
First, the fat content, which is high in red meat, has been found to reduce insulin sensitivity and beta cell function in the pancreas. In addition, heme iron – a type of iron found in animal foods – can increase insulin resistance, impaired beta cell function and oxidative stress, as well as an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body.
Increased use of the amino acid glycine, which is naturally present in most proteins, is also observed after red meat consumption and is associated with diabetes risk.
Excess body fat is another risk factor for diabetes, and red meat consumption is one of the dietary factors that has the greatest association with weight gain, according to the study.
“Prevention of diabetes is important because this disease itself is a serious burden, and is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease, cancer and dementia,” said one of the study’s authors, Xiao Gu, quoted from CNN International, Saturday (21/10/2023 ).
Based on the research findings, Dr. Walter C. Willett says limiting red meat consumption to about one serving per week makes sense for people who want to optimize their health and well-being. Willet is a senior study author, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
Gu added that choosing plant-based protein sources will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, as well as other environmental benefits.
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Originally posted 2023-10-21 11:30:00.