Is it safe to eat red meat in type 2?

[vik]

Hello,

This is on behalf of my mother who is a type 2.

Is it safe to include red meat portions in her diet? beef/lamb? ...along with green veggies?

Of course in moderation according to portions but still...is it safe or will it have adverse affect on her.

Please advice.

Thanks,
Vik

 

[mobrien]

As far as I know yes red meat is safe to eat but as with all things moderation is the key. Also trim off the fat because it is saturated.

 

[John aka Wallycorker]

Yes Vik - of course it is just like most other foods - i.e. in moderation!

Sugars and starchy carbohydrates - i.e. cereals, bread, potatoes, pasta and rice etc - are the foods that people with diabetes need to take great care with.

Best wishes - John

 

[hanadr]

Yes vik
I know nothing specific against meat.
In fact I'm all for eating any natural food, especially home cooked. I also disagee on the matter of removintg the fat. Most recent studies have shown that saturated fats don't cause any problems. There never was any proper evidence against fats, just the assumption that fats made you gain weight and develop cholesterol. Both these have now been discounted, but the myths persist.
My personal decider on food is: could I eat this raw if I chose to? The answer for meat is a definite "Yes!". It's actually "No" for grains.
There's anew one of those now" Would your Great Grandmother recognise it as food?" If so it's probably safe to eat.
And my grandmother was a farmer!!
Hana

 

[noblehead]

I also disagree on the matter of removing the fat. Most recent studies have shown that saturated fats don't cause any problems. There never was any proper evidence against fats, just the assumption that fats made you gain weight and develop cholesterol. Both these have now been discounted, but the myths persist. Hana

Hi Vik,

I wouldn't agree with the above statement, the evidence is stacked against saturated fat as much today as it was 10-20 years ago. It is certainly no 'myth'............ask your gp or diabetes consultant.

As for the red meat question, I think that you have answered this yourself, everything in moderation. I asked my diabetes consultant about meat consumption, and he said that it was best not to eat to much on a daily basis, as to much protein can lead to kidney disease. Although there are many on this forum who disagree with this, I am only going by what I was told by my consultant.

I would encourage your mum to vary her choice by including chicken,turkey and fish.

Best wishes!

Nigel

 

[Dillinger]

Red meat is fine; fat is not the problem with diabetes, but sugar and starch is. If you want to elevate your triglyceride levels eat carbohydrates, if you want them to come down focus on the fats and the protein.

Nigel is running the perceived wisdom line here with his "the evidence is stacked against saturated fat as much today as it was 10-20 years ago". When actually there is no evidence to show that.

I've quoted this before but I think it's relevant;

The Framingham Nutritional Study in Massachusetts is the longest running dietary study in the world. It started in 1948 and is still going on.

One of the first ideas that the researchers had was to look at how diet related to cholesterol levels and how diet related to the development of heart disease. And here is their conclusion; ‘there is, in short, no suggestion of any relation between diet and the subsequent development of CHD in the study group… ’.

So, no eating meat (or eggs, or cheese or anything else) will not give you heart disease.

We often hear as well that eating protein damages our kidney's but I'd like someone to explain that to me. The kidney's are filters; what damages them is not the protein levels in our blood but unregulated blood sugars.

So if the choice is red meat over potatoes always always go for the red meat.

All the best

Dillinger

 

[noblehead]

Red meat is fine; fat is not the problem with diabetes, but sugar and starch is. If you want to elevate your triglyceride levels eat carbohydrates, if you want them to come down focus on the fats and the protein.

Nigel is running the perceived wisdom line here with his "the evidence is stacked against saturated fat as much today as it was 10-20 years ago". When actually there is no evidence to show that.

Dillinger

Far from it Dillinger, there is more evidence against eating saturated fat than there is for. I would rather trust the knowledge and expertise of the professionals who deal with the consequences of a person choosing the wrong diet.

I have excellent cholesterol levels following a low-fat approach, and if you are who I think you are on another forum, I see that your latest test results are a little disappointing!

Best wishes!

Nigel

 

[Dillinger]

Far from it Dillinger, there is more evidence against eating saturated fat than there is for. I would rather trust the knowledge and expertise of the professionals who deal with the consequences of a person choosing the wrong diet.

I have excellent cholesterol levels following a low-fat approach, and if you are who I think you are on another forum, I see that your latest test results are a little disappointing!

Nigel, I'm not just trying to be contrary for the sake of it; I don't think there are any studies to show that; if you can point me in the right direction I'd be happy to read them.

I am Dillinger on another forum, and on that other forum I posted an increased cholesterol level which resulted from me stopping statins; nothing to do with diet (which was unchanged).

I don't doubt that statins do reduce your cholesterol level, but just that that matters at all in relation to CHD or CVD.

But we are not really talking statins here; the original poster wants to know if it's ok for her mum to eat red meat. Well here is a study that suggests it is, this focuses on a low-carb diet but by extension that must be higher in fat and protein than a high carb diet.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 095850.htm

All the best

Dillinger (for it is I)

 

[noblehead]

Dillinger,

I didn't look at the link, but agree with you that it is fine to eat red meat, everything in moderation. I think for arguments sake we should agree to disagree here, as I don't think that we shall ever see eye to eye on this matter. I think it is up to the person asking the question to make a informed choice based on the views and evidence put before them.

Regards

Nigel

 

[John aka Wallycorker]

Hi again Vik,

You asked a quite simple question and deserve a simple answer.

Despite the the heated debate that can and does arise regarding most food matters on these forums the quite simple answer is as I re-iterate - "Yes - of course it is just like most other foods - i.e. in moderation!"

Best wishes - John

 

[phoenix]

I agree it's fine to eat red meat in moderation and like Nigel would go for leaner sources. There are some correlations with other diseases and red meat specifically but usually when eaten in large quantites.

If someone has established diabetic renal disease there is some evidence that protein restriction or replacing red meat with chicken may slow it's progression but most sources seem to suggest a normal (ie not high protein) diet for these people, ( unless given a specific diet by a renal dietition.)
http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab002181.html
I did look at the link provided by Dillinger

Total amounts of fat or carbohydrate did not appear to have an appreciable relationship with risk of CHD. However, types of fat and carbohydrates do make a difference. Vegetable fat was associated a lower risk of risk of CHD, whereas higher dietary glycemic load (reflecting the amount of refined carbohydrates that can rapidly elevate blood sugar levels)--typical of a high-carb diet--was strongly associated with increased risk. The authors found that, when vegetable sources of fat and protein were chosen instead of animal sources, the low-carbohydrate-diet score was associated with a 30% lower risk of CHD.

not a green flag for large amounts of animal fat (nor refined carbs)