Study of Nearly 2 Million People Links Red and Processed Meat to Type 2 Diabetes

Eating 50g of processed meat a day, about two slices of ham, is linked to a 15% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the next ten years, and 100g of unprocessed red meat a day, roughly a small steak, to a 10% higher risk, according to the largest study of its kind.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge's MRC Epidemiology Unit pooled individual data from 1.97 million adults in 31 cohorts across 20 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia through the InterConnect project. Over a median of ten years, 107,271 people developed type 2 diabetes. The results are published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Poultry showed a weaker 8% link per 100g a day that the authors call uncertain.

Senior author Professor Nita Forouhi said in the Cambridge press release:

Our research provides the most comprehensive evidence to date of an association between eating processed meat and unprocessed red meat and a higher future risk of type 2 diabetes. It supports recommendations to limit the consumption of processed meat and unprocessed red meat to reduce type 2 diabetes cases in the population.

Beans, lentils, tofu and tempeh make easy swaps in a sandwich or a stew.

Last year a review of 4.4 million people linked red meat to heart disease and diabetes, and Harvard found that swapping red meat for nuts and beans was linked to 30% lower diabetes risk.

The evidence keeps stacking up, one bean at a time.