Is Red Meat Consumption Tied To Diabetes Risk?

A recent long-term study published last year suggests that an increase of red meat over time will put you at higher risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.
So that means thinking twice about that t-bone steak, pork chop, or hot dog this summer.
Previous research has tied the consumption of both unprocessed and processed red meat to diabetes, but this study tracked the risk of developing the disease over time. Often throughout a person's life their eating habits will change, and the risks for certain diseases will change as well.
"This is stronger evidence that red meat consumption contributes to an increased risk of diabetes," said senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Researchers gathered their information from three Harvard studies that tracked 149,000 health-care professionals who filled out questionnaires about their diets every four years. The participants, both men and women, were followed for 12 to 16 years. Consumption of red meat was varied, but overall daily intake was 1 1/2 servings.
The findings were published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association and included:

• Those who increased their daily intake by as little as half a serving a day had a 48% increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes over a four year period, compared to those who maintained their red meat intake.
• Eating more red meat was associated with weight gain, and weight gain accounted for a large portion of the increased risks for developing diabetes. 
• People who decreased their red meat consumption over four years did not have a reduced risk of developing the disease. Instead, they had a reduced risk of developing diabetes by 14% over ten years.

The findings apply to both processed red meat, like lunch meats and hot dogs, but also unprocessed red meat, like hamburger, steak, or pork chops. The association was higher for processed meats, said lead author An Pan of the National University of Singapore, who worked on the study while he was at Harvard.
The authors state that this study does not prove cause and effect, but is instead observational.
Hu believes that the high amount of nitrates and sodium in processed meats are factors in the risk for diabetes, as well as the heme iron in red meat. Iron typically helps prevent anemia, but a majority of people in the United States have an iron overload. He recommends eating more nuts, low-fat dairy, and whole grains and reducing your daily consumption of red meat.
William Evans, head of the Muscle Metabolism Discovery Performance Unit at GlaxoSmithKline and an adjunct professor of geriatric medicine at Duke University says that, "the interaction of the many genetic and lifestyle factors that contribute to the cause of type 2 diabetes is remarkably complex and still not well understood. The major factors associated with the risk are levels of physical activity, body fatness, distribution of body fat, and diet."
Evans doesn't believe that red meat is the sole problem, "but the amount of saturated fat in meat. Saturated fat causes the inflammation in the body which increases the risk of bad things like heart disease and diabetes.
"You can eat lean cuts of beef like sirloin tip steak, top round steak, and beef tips that are extremely low in fat and saturated fat, even lower than a number of cuts of chicken. Cheddar cheese has as much saturated fat as a T-bone steak."
Reference: USA Today
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Timing Of First Solid Food Linked To Diabetes

Moms: now you have even more to worry about.
In children already at a higher risk for developing type 1 diabetes, missing the right time for introducing solid foods into your baby's diet may increase their risk.
According to Jill Norris, Ph.D., MPH, of the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora and her colleagues, compared to exposing children to solid food between the ages of four and five months, both exposing them too early and too late increases their risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
It is not all solid food however, that is associated with this risk. Specifically, the food group associated with a higher risk was rice or oats when exposed after the age of six months, says the study, published online in JAMA Pediatrics.
"These results suggest the safest age to introduce solid foods in children at increased genetic risk for type 1 diabetes is between 4 and 5 months," they wrote, noting that these findings are consistent with what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends for solid food introduction.
Previous studies looking at the connection between the timing of solid foods and risk of type 1 diabetes have had conflicting results. Norris and her colleagues looked at data from the Diabetes Autoimmunity Study in the Young (DAISY), a longitudinal investigation of risk factors for the disease.
The new study looked at 1,835 children who either had testing for diabetes susceptibility alleles or had a first-degree relative with type 1 diabetes. Only those followed from birth with complete information about solid food exposure were included.
When solid food was introduced too late or too early, there was a greater risk of developing type 1 diabetes after adjustment for human leukocyte antigen genotype, having a first-degree relative with the disease, maternal education, and type of delivery.
As well, early exposure to fruit, but not fruit juice, also increased the risk for the disease, but the association became nonsignificant after accounting for other food exposures.
"The risk predicted by early exposure to solid foods might suggest a mechanism involving an abnormal response to solid food antigens in an immature gut system in susceptible individuals," the authors wrote. "As the increased risk is not limited to a specific food, it is possible many solids, including cereals and fruits, contain a common component that triggers an immature response."
However, the relationship between late exposure to solid foods and the risk for type 1 diabetes "may be related to the larger amounts given at initial exposure to older children. Also, if solid foods are introduced too late, when breast milk alone no longer meets the infant's energy and nutrient needs, nutrient deficiencies may occur, which may play a role in increasing... risk," said researchers.
"Additionally, the increased risk predicted by late exposure to solid foods may be related to the cessation of breastfeeding before solid foods are introduced, resulting in a loss of the protective effects of breast milk at the time of foreign food antigens," they wrote.
Reference: MedPage Today
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Diabetics: Stay Away From Soft Drinks!

If you like drinking soft drinks, be careful: drinking one or more cans of sugary soft drinks each day has been linked to an increased risk for diabetes later in life.
Europeans scientists have found that having just one can a day raises your risk by 20 percent, compared to someone who has one can or less a month.
This new research was carried out by scientists in the UK, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, and the Netherlands. The findings were published in the journal Diabetologia and mirrors previous US research.
More than 350,000 people participated in the study, which involved questions about their diet and was part of a larger European study on links between diet and cancer.
"The consumption of sugar sweetened soft drinks increases your risk of diabetes- so for every can of soft drinks that you drink per day, the risk is higher," said leader researcher Dora Romaguera from Imperial College London.
Romaguera called for better public health information on the effects of soft drinks. "Given the increase in sweet beverage consumption in Europe, clearer messages on its deleterious effect on health should be given to the population," said Romaguera and colleagues in their paper.
However, fruit juice consumption was not linked to an increased risk for diabetes later in life.
Dr. Matthew Hobbs, head of research at Diabetes UK, said the link between sugary drinks and Type 2 diabetes exists when you add in body mass index. The risk, therefore, is not due to the extra calories.
"Even so, it is not definitive evidence that sugar-sweetened soft drinks increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, other than through their effect on body weight," Dr. Hobbs said.
"We do, though, already recommend limiting consumption of sugary foods and drinks as these are usually high in calories and so can lead to weight gain if you have too many of them. This is important for Type 2 diabetes because we know that maintaining a healthy weight is the single most important thing you can do to prevent it," Hobbs added.
Professor Patrick Wolfe from University College London, a statistic expert, said that just 4 percent of the UK population has Type 1 diabetes. "In and of themselves, sugary soft drinks are only part of the picture- they're just one of the potential risk factors for Type 2 diabetes. But since they are one we can easily eliminate- by switching to diet soft drinks or, even better, cutting them out of our diets altogether- it makes good sense to do so," said Wolfe.
Reference: Codewit World News
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Americans Saying "Not Me" When It Comes to Diabetes

Diabetes is a serious epidemic that affects people all over the world. In 2011 366 million people worldwide had diabetes and that figure is expected to rise to 552 million by 2030. In the United States 23 million people had diabetes in 2011 and that will rise to 29 million in 2030. More than 79 million Americans have pre-diabetes and a quarter million people die from complications from diabetes every year. Total cost to Americans exceeds $218 billion.
Americans however, are not making lifestyle changes to prevent that number from rising. Despite all of the information and easy changes Americans can make, they are suffering from "not me" syndrome.
A new survey by the Health Dialog and commissioned by the parent company Bupa, 82% of Americans are aware that being overweight is a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, yet they do not apply this logic to themselves. More than 58% of Americans have a body mass index of 25 or over, which classifies them as overweight and obese. Overall, 29% of American respondents were obese, with a body mass index of 30 or more. Which is more frightening is that 51% of respondents considered themselves to be healthy and 43% thought their diets were good.
Oddly enough, 74% of Americans surveyed said obesity, unhealthy diets, and low levels of physical activity are the nation's biggest health issues. Eight out of ten Americans know that being overweight is a risk factor for the development of diabetes.
"There is a startling disconnect between what people know about the risk factors associated with diabetes and what they are actually doing to protect themselves from a health and wellness standpoint," said Peter Goldbach, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Health Dialog. "Given their knowledge, people now need to realize that even small steps can make a big difference when it comes to eating better, exercising more regularly, or shedding a few pounds. At Health Dialog we understand the importance of wellness programs that fit easily into people's lives and are more like fun than a chore. It's not about checking a box. It's about integrating new behaviors little by little into everyday life."
So what will it take for Americans and the government to do something about this epidemic? Millions of Americans to die from diabetes every year? Here are a couple of suggestions:
*Teach healthy nutrition to every school child and make sure every school has physical education classes every day. Throw out all processed foods, fast food, junk food, sodas, and vending machines from all schools.
*Create a national task force that will re-educate the entire population on nutrition and exercise.
*Stop the promotion of junk foods to children (Disney has already accepted this challenge). 
If you are a diabetic and do not currently see a podiatrist, call our Bristol office to make an appointment.
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