A team of scientists from the Duke University School of Medicine (USA) has confirmed that a high consumption of red meat and poultry can increase the risk of developing diabetes. On the contrary, fish and shellfish do not represent any risk. The results have been published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Why eating too much meat can predispose us to diabetes?
The researchers analyzed data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, which involved 63,257 adults ages 45 to 74. They were selected between 1993 and 1998, and had a continuous follow-up along with two interviews, the first from 1999 to 2004 and the other from 2006 to 2010. The objective was to evaluate the link between red meat, poultry, fish and shellfish. and type 2 diabetes, taking into account the impact of heme iron, which is the content of iron absorbed by eating meat .
The results determined that people with a higher dietary intake of red meat and poultry had a higher risk of diabetes. Specifically , eating more red meat increased the risk of diabetes by 23% and eating more poultry meat increased the risk of diabetes by 15%. However, both the consumption of fish and crustaceans did not present any danger.
Fortunately, the researchers also observed that when meat was replaced by fish and shellfish, the increased risk was reduced.
In this context, the experts also examined the impact of heme iron related to meat consumption and diabetes. They found that higher heme iron intake was associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes.
They then evaluated whether or not adjusting the heme iron intake content of individuals’ diets would affect the risk of diabetes. This is what they discovered:
“After further adjustment for heme iron intake, the association between red meat intake and risk of diabetes remained statistically significant, while the association with poultry intake disappeared, ” the authors explain.
This may suggest that there are substances present in red meat – and not poultry – other than iron – that could be responsible for the increased risk of diabetes.
However, in the case of poultry, the study suggests that some parts of the chicken may pose less risk than others . Breast, for example, has a lower heme iron content than chicken thighs, so it can be healthier in the long run.
Although we should not give up meat, we should be more aware of the amounts and types of meat that we include in our meals.
“Singaporeans only need to reduce their daily intake, especially for red meat, and choose chicken breast and fish / shellfish, or plant-based protein foods and dairy products, to reduce their daily intake. Diabetes risk “, clarifies Woon-Puay Koh, leader of the work.
The study, according to the authors, can be extrapolated to the entire world population.
Reference: Meat, Dietary Heme Iron, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Singapore Chinese Health Study. Mohammad Talaei Ye-Li Wang Jian-Min Yuan An Pan Woon-Puay Koh. 2017 American Journal of Epidemiology, doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwx156
