Just two bacon sandwiches a week ‘enough to raise diabetes risk’

Just two bacon sandwiches a week or a large roast beef dinner is enough to increase the risk of diabetes, warns a new study.

Eating more than one weekly serving of red meat may raise the chances of developing type 2 diabetes, say scientists.

And the more red meat people eat, the greater the risk.

But replacing red meat with plant-based protein food sources, such as nuts and legumes, may reduce the risk of developing the condition, according to the study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health found that replacing red meat with healthy plant-based protein sources or modest amounts of dairy foods was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

The study’s first author Dr Xiao Gu said: “Our findings strongly support dietary guidelines that recommend limiting the consumption of red meat, and this applies to both processed and unprocessed red meat.”

While previous research has found a link between red meat consumption and type 2 diabetes risk, the new study, which analysed a large number of type 2 diabetes cases among participants being followed for an extended period of years, adds a greater level of certainty about the association.

Type 2 diabetes rates are increasing rapidly worldwide.

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Doctors say it is concerning not only because diabetes is a serious burden, but it is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease, cancer, and even dementia.

The research team analysed health data from 216,695 participants. Their diet was assessed via 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 research team 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 per cent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate the least.

Every additional daily serving of processed red meat was associated with a 46 per cent greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

And every additional daily serving of unprocessed red meat was associated with a 24 per cent greater risk, according to the findings.

The research team also estimated the potential effects of substituting one daily serving of red meat for another protein source.

They found that substituting a serving of nuts and legumes was associated with a 30 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and substituting a serving of dairy products was associated with a 22 per cent lower risk.

Study senior author Professor Walter Willett said: “Given our findings and previous work by others, a limit of about one serving per week of red meat would be reasonable for people wishing to optimise their health and well-being.”

The research team said that, in addition to health benefits, swapping red meat for healthy plant protein sources would also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and provide other environmental benefits.