Many of the fundamental constituents of an average ‘Western’ diet, including processed meat, seem to increase the risk of developing diabetes, a new study has reported. Investigators in America found that those people who eat a predominately Western style diet, heavy in refined grains, chips, red and processed meat and sweets, upped their risk of developing diabetes by 50 per cent over a 14-year period, when compared to similar people who ate only minimal amounts of Western-style food.
The researchers aimed to break the Western-style diet down into its major parts, and analyse the affect of each. They found that the more red and processed meats were eaten, the further the risk of developing diabetes increased. The findings of the study indicate that people, particularly those concerned about obesity, should avoid red and processed meats as much as possible.
When these types of meat are cooked at high temperatures, they create substances that seem to aid the development of diabetes. Red meats are high in fat. The study was primarily concerned with type 2 diabetes, by far the most common form of the disease.
In American, type 2 diabetes is accelerating at an alarming rate. The number of pre-diabetics in America is vast and steadily growing, as incidences of obesity continue to climb.

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