Even moderate consumption of red meat per week greatly increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
It is generally accepted that too much red meat is bad for your health. Recently, researchers from Harvard University (Boston) wanted to know from how much per week there was a risk of developing type 2 diabetesone of the main cardiovascular risk factors.
Each serving increases the risk by 46%
They analyzed the diet of 216,695 participants to the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) cohort, including 81% were women. The frequency of consumption of red meat (beef, veal, pork, mutton, etc.) was assessed every 2 to 4 years, for an extended period (up to 36 years for some participants). According to their results published in the journal The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition :
► Near 23,000 participants developed type 2 diabetes during follow-up.
► People who ate 2 servings of red meat (processed or unprocessed) per week had a risk 62% higher to develop type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate one serving or less.
► The more red meat we consume, the more this risk increases: vsEach additional daily serving of processed red meat (sausages, smoked meats, pastrami, beef jerky, corned beef, canned meats, etc.) was associated with a 46% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and each additional daily portion of unprocessed red meat (steak, entrecôte, etc.) was associated with a 24% higher risk.
► People who replaced a daily serving of red meat with a source of plant-based protein like a portion of nut or legumes had a 30% lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
► Those which replaced a daily portion of red meat with a serving of dairy products had a 22% lower risk.
No more than one minced steak per week
“Given our findings and previous work by other researchers, a limit of approximately one serving of red meat per week would be reasonable for people wanting to optimize their health and well-being“, indicates one of the authors of the study Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition, in a statement. A portion of red meat is considered to correspond to minced beef (100 to 125g raw), a slice of steak (120g raw) or a sirloin (150g raw) or liver (130g raw). Please note that depending on the pieces and the cooking method, a 100 g portion of raw meat corresponds on average to 70 g once cooked (while cooking, the meat loses part of its water). Researchers also recommend favoring plant-based protein sources such as legumes (lentils, split peas, chickpeas, etc.) or oilseed (walnuts, almonds…).