Beat diabetes

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.}