Beat diabetes

| 2 June 2009
minute reading time

Red alert

A new review published in the journal Diabetologia provides more evidence that eating meat can increase the risk of diabetes. In this review of 12 studies, those who ate the most meat had the highest risk of type 2 diabetes. Intakes of red meat and processed meat were associated with a 21 and 41 per cent increased risk, respectively.

Animal protein

Diets high in animal protein are also associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes according to a new study published in Diabetes Care. This study looked at the protein intake of over 38,000 people for 10 years. They found that for every five per cent of calories from protein (rather than from carbohydrate or fat), the risk of developing diabetes increased by 30 per cent. Vegetable protein alone was not related to diabetes.

Aune et al., 2009. Meat consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Diabetologia. 52 (11) 2277-2287.

Sluijs et al., 2010. Dietary intake of total, animal, and vegetable protein and risk of type 2 diabetes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-NL study. Diabetes Care. 33 (1) 43-48.

About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
I joined Viva! as a health campaigner in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. My scientific training helped me research and write numerous reports, guides and fact sheets for Viva! including Meat the Truth, Fish-Free for Life, One in Nine (breast cancer and diet) and the substantial report on the detrimental health effects of consuming dairy; White Lies. This accompanied Viva!’s report The Dark Side of Dairy which spelt out the inherent cruelty of dairy farming. We were the first UK group to take on the dairy industry in this way, and many of our supporters go vegan after reading these reports.

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