Red Meat Increases Diabetes Risk

A buck fifty doesn't get you much these days unless you're at Costco where you can grab a hot dog and a drink for that and some change.  I think of it as one of life's little pleasures.  Unfortunately, processed red meat has taken a bit of a hit of late and been linked with all manner of poor health, especially colon cancer.  Which means that we may need to reconsider pepperoni pizza, brats, and pasta w/sausage.  However, in an observational study released early online this week for print publication in October, the authors linked red meat consumption, both processed and unprocessed, to risk of developing diabetes.

The authors followed 37,083 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, 79,570 women in the Nurses' Health Study I, and 87,504 women in the Nurses' Health Study II for approximately 20yrs and even tossed out the typical variables such as age, body mass index, and other lifestyle & dietary risk factors, before linking both unprocessed & process red meat to an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.  In fact, a small 2oz daily serving of processed meat increased risk by 50% while 4oz daily of unprocessed red meat increased risk but only by 20%.  A serving of nuts, whole grains, and/or low fat dairy substituted for red meat was associated with 16-35% lower risk of developing diabetes.  The authors took their analysis a step further by analyzing data involving 442,101 participants in a meta-analysis that confirmed the findings as noted above. 

However, as I've mentioned in numerous other posts, these observational studies & meta-analyses are only good for developing hypotheses.  They provide no basis for proving cause & effect.  So will I give up my occasional but not daily red meat?  Only after you pry it from my cold dead hands!