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Confused yet again

derry60

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,200
Location
Bridlington Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
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Rudeness,people being unkind
Heme iron in red meat and poultry linked to increased type 2 diabetes risk
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Thu, 07 Sep 2017



Higher intake of red meat and poultry is associated with a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, according to new research.

The Singapore study attributed this raised risk to a higher content of heme iron in these meats, which is predominantly found in blood and muscle. The scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS) stated that not all meats affect the risk of type 2 diabetes equally.

Earlier this week Cambridge University reported that processed red meat may not raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. That study suggested that the increased risks between red meat and type 2 diabetes may be due to overall diet as the researchers found that those who consumed processed red meat tended have poorer diets overall.

This was one of the largest Asian studies looking at meat consumption and diabetes risk, which recruited 63,257 adults aged 45-74 between 1993-1998, with researchers evaluating their dietary choices for an average of 11 years.

The researchers identified a dose-dependent association dietary heme iron content from all meats and the risk of type 2 diabetes. After adjustment for heme iron a link between red meat and diabetes risk remained, suggesting other chemicals could be accountable. But this association was nullified between poultry intake and diabetes risk, indicating the risk may be due to heme iron content.

Senior author Professor Koh Woon Puay explained: "We don't need to remove meat from the diet entirely. Singaporeans just need to reduce the daily intake, especially for red meat, and choose chicken breast and fish/shellfish, or plant-based protein food and dairy products, to reduce the risk of diabetes.

"At the end of the day, we want to provide the public with information to make evidence-based choices in picking the healthier food to reduce disease risk."

Whilst the researchers suggest cutting down on red meat, it is important to note that this was an observational study. The study found an association between red meat and poultry, but it did not review the overall quality of diet and cannot demonstrate that these types of meat are worse than other sources of protein.
 
It is the last paragraph that is most important, to me, anyway. Until I read (in lay men's terms, obviously) the results of RCTs I'm just filing away observational studies like these as 'Possible Connections'.
 
Salmon, fish, red meat, poultry, cheese, dairy,eggs. They all are associated with type 2. I just mix it all up !! And I also don't eat slabs of any protein.

There is no perfect food.

Funny thing is bread and carbs don't cause diabetes to some ??? !!! It's a viscous circle !!
 
Well, my blood glucose control deteriorates with increased carb intake and improves with reduced carb intake.
I keep my protein to 'normal' amounts, and make sure I get a range of sources.

I really do think that focusing on protein as a cause for type 2 is a red herring when there are other, bigger issues (like high carb diets, high processed food diets, massive increase in sugar consumption globally, general deterioration in nutrition due to soil deterioration, increased pollution and increased contamination of food supply, increased urbanisation, increase in sedentary lifestyles... - to name but a few).

If someone came up to me and said 'your type 2 is caused by too much red meat, you should switch to chicken'. I would dismiss them out of hand.

And yes @Guzzler that last paragraph is very telling.
 
I started to Google how much carbohydrate Singaporeans eat. Seems that when someone suggested that rice, being 1/3 of their daily calories, wasn't good for you, there was an outcry of indignation. I'm obviously no expert on medical research but any link to any food is questionable when the test subjects are eating other foods. So I reckon it was the rice and noodles all along!

They might have a way to go on the cut carbs front.
 
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