USA Today reports, “Eating processed meats and red meat regularly increases your risk of type 2 diabetes,” according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“The findings come from a broad analysis of three groups of male and female health professionals, totaling nearly 300,000 people ages 25 to 75,” the New York Times (Subscription Publication) “Well” blog reports. “The researchers looked at their eating and health habits dating to 1976.” Meanwhile, the study participants “answered detailed questions about their diets and medical history and provided updated information every two years.”
The Huffington Post reports that researchers found that individuals who “eat one 3.5-ounce serving of processed meat – equivalent to two slices of bacon, or a hot dog – every day have a 51 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes.”
Individuals “who eat one 100-gram serving of red, unprocessed meat – the size of a deck of cards – a day have a 19 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes,” according to the study.
The meats “may be wreaking havoc on your body’s ability to produce and use insulin properly,” the study surmised.
According to a report from HealthDay, “Among people who ate one daily serving of red meat, substituting one serving of whole grains per day reduced the risk of diabetes by 23 percent. Substituting nuts resulted in a 21 percent lower risk, and substituting a low-fat dairy product, a 17 percent lower risk.”