A number have studies have investigated the association between red meat and type 2 diabetes, but the results have been inconsistent. This possibly relates to the presence of confounding variables that influence insulin sensitivity and thus modifies the association between red meat and diabetes. Although red meat consumption does show some association with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the association is stronger for processed red meats. For example, researchers1 followed 37,083 men and 167,074 women and assessed dietary intakes with food frequency questionnaires. During the follow-up period (4,033,322 person years) there were 13,759 cases of type 2 diabetes. Following adjustment for know type 2 diabetes risk factors (such as age, body mass index, physical activity and smoking), there was an association between both processed and unprocessed red meats and type 2 diabetes.
The authors calculated that the hazard ratio for one serving per day increase in unprocessed, processed and total red meat consumption were 1.12, 1.32 and 1.14. These results suggest that processed red meats increase the risk of developing diabetes to a greater extent than both unprocessed red meat and total red meat consumption. A meta-analysis by the same authors confirmed the results, and they reported the relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes was 1.19 and 1.51 for 100g of unprocessed red meat per day and 50g of processed meat per day. Interestingly, estimations were made that suggest that that substitution of one serving of red meat for one serving of nuts, low-fat dairy or whole grains, decreased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 16 to 35%. Red meat may increase diabetes risk because saturated fat can decrease insulin sensitivity.
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