The link between meat and diabetes

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Can a bacon sandwich raise your risk of diabetes?

That's the question being asked after a study of two million people found that eating a small amount of processed meat leads to a significantly increased chance of contracting the disease.

But the finding, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, is just the latest development in the "ever-evolving and confusing world of nutrition science", said New Scientist. So just how dangerous is processed meat?

What are the findings?

The study of just under two million people from 20 different countries found a link to red and processed meats, including steak, and bacon and sausages.

The team, from the University of Cambridge, found that for every 50 grams of processed meat eaten per day, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes rose on average by 15%, while an extra 100g of unprocessed red meat per day was linked to a 10% higher risk. It also found that the link between type 2 diabetes and eating poultry, such as chicken, turkey and duck, remained uncertain and needs further investigation.

Speaking to The Times, Professor Naveed Sattar, from the University of Glasgow, said the findings suggest cutting red and processed meats from diets "may not only protect people from heart disease and stroke" but also from type 2 diabetes, "a disease on the rise worldwide".

What are the question marks?

Although the research "has been done well", said the BBC, the findings are "nuanced" and "should not cause fear or panic".

The "inevitable limitation" of the research is that it "cannot prove" meat causes diabetes, because it is "impossible to fully discount" other possible risk factors, such as "other foods people in the study ate" and "the lifestyle they led".

Research like this "has to rely on participants telling the truth and accurately recalling what they eat", so it "should not wipe meat off the menu", added the broadcaster.

But this does not mean the findings should be "entirely dismissed" because they add to a "growing picture of what foods – and how much – might be good or bad for us".

What do health agencies say about meat?

The International Agency for Research on Cancer puts processed meat in the same category of risk as tobacco smoking and asbestos. The NHS advises people to consume no more than 70g (cooked weight) of red or processed meat a day because experts believe eating too much can cause bowel cancer.

Another recent study found that those who avoid meat "seem to be in better health", said The Telegraph, adding that vegetarians and vegans "appear less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, cancer or die early" and also "tend to have better blood pressure, blood sugar and BMI readings".

Experts say people considering cutting down on their meat intake should make sure they still have plenty of iron, vitamin B12 and protein in their diet.

What is diabetes?

The condition occurs when the pancreas fails to produce sufficient insulin to control the amount of glucose, or sugar, in the blood. Patients with type 1 diabetes, which accounts for 10% of cases, cannot produce insulin. The remaining 90% with type 2 diabetes either don't produce enough or their cells fail to react to it.

The number of cases has doubled over the past two decades and last year 4.3 million people in Britain were living with a formal diagnosis, while it is thought one million adults are living with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.