Eating just two servings of red meat a week may increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a study suggests.
Harvard University researchers, who examined the eating habits and diabetes rates for 200,000 people, advised limiting red meat to one serving per week to ‘optimise health’.
A typical 70g serving is equivalent to two thick rashers of bacon or one-and-a-half sausages.
The findings, therefore, suggest that eating just two typical bacon sandwiches, or one steak, per week raises the type 2 diabetes risk.
However, experts behind the new health warning classed one serving of processed red meat as 28-45g, while a portion of unprocessed red meat was 85g.
Scientists claimed, however, swapping one serving of red meat for another protein source — such as nuts, chickpeas or kidney beans — slashes the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 30 per cent.
The findings suggest that eating just two bacon sandwiches, one burger or two-thirds of an 8oz steak raises the type 2 diabetes risk
Red meat has been demonised for decades due to a wealth of evidence suggesting that eating too much can raise the risk of heart disease, cancer and an early grave.
Although a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc and B vitamins, it can be high in salt and saturated fat.
And processed varieties can be packed with controversial preservatives designed to keep it fresher, enhance taste and boost appearance. Eating lots of processed foods can also be a sign of an unhealthy lifestyle, which can lead to obesity — the biggest cause of type 2 diabetes.
UK health chiefs recommend consuming no more than 70g of red meat — such as beef, lamb or pork — or processed meat — such as ham, bacon and salami — a day.
Previous studies have indicated a link between red meat consumption and type 2 diabetes risk, but the researchers said their study adds a greater level of certainty about the association.
Experts examined the health records and dietary patterns of 216,695 people who were quizzed about what they ate every two to four years, for up to 36 years.
During this time, more than 22,000 participants developed type 2 diabetes.
Results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, show that eating red meat — both processed and unprocessed — was strongly associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Those who ate the most red meat — around two-and-a-half servings a day — had a 62 per cent higher risk of developing the condition compared with those who ate the least.
And every additional daily serving of processed red meat was associated with a 46 per cent greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes.
Each extra daily serving of unprocessed red meat was associated with a 24 per cent greater risk, the study found.
However, substituting a serving of red meat for dairy products was linked to a 22 per cent lower risk.
Despite the study looking at daily meat servings, the researchers argued it should be limited to two servings a week.
Xiao Gu, lead author and postdoctoral research fellow in the department of nutrition, said: ‘Our findings strongly support dietary guidelines that recommend limiting the consumption of red meat.
‘This applies to both processed and unprocessed red meat.’
Professor Walter Willett, senior study author and an expert in epidemiology and nutrition, said: ‘Given our findings and previous work by others, a limit of about one serving per week of red meat would be reasonable for people wishing to optimise their health and wellbeing.’
According to the scientists, swapping red meat for healthy plant protein sources would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change, and provide other environmental benefits.
Around 3.9million Britons have type 2 diabetes, with an additional 850,000 thought to be living with the condition but not yet diagnosed.
In the US, around 33million have type 2 diabetes.
The number of adults living with diabetes is expected to more than double by 2050 due to a surge in obesity levels, research suggests.
