If you love meat, you might want to look away now.
Harvard University researchers have issued a stark warning about red meat and urged the public to cut back on their intake after the publication of new research. A team of US experts analyzed data from more than 200,000 participants over 36 years to find out what “hemi iron” does to our health.
While this may not ring a bell, it is actually the most easily absorbed iron in the human body, found in a variety of meats such as beef, lamb, liver and certain types of fish. Disturbingly, they found a “significant association” between this type of iron and the onset of type 2 diabetes, raising concerns about typical daily dietary choices.
“This study highlights the importance of healthy dietary choices in diabetes prevention,” said lead author Frank Hu, the Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology. “Decreasing the intake of heme iron, especially from red meat, and adopting a more plant-based diet may be effective strategies for reducing the risk of diabetes.”
Type 2 diabetes, a common disease behind high blood sugar levels, is influenced by many factors, including heredity, age, and body weight.
Patients often experience excessive thirst, fatigue and frequent urination, although some have no symptoms at all. As the researchers point out, the long-term consequences of type 2 diabetes include an increased risk of dementia, a decline in mental acuity that affects almost a million individuals across the UK.
The results of the Harvard study revealed that those who consumed the most heme iron had a 26% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who consumed the least. Heme iron also accounted for more than half of the type 2 diabetes risk associated with unprocessed red meat.
These are undoubtedly worrying results, but fear not. Researchers suggest that you can mitigate this risk by replacing red meat with more plant-based foods each day. Foods such as legumes, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits tend to be high in “non-heme iron.”
The results show that this is not associated with worsening of type 2 diabetes. However, the scientists agreed that more research is needed to understand this full effect.
Their sample group was 79% female and predominantly white, despite the increased risk of type 2 diabetes in people of Black African, African Caribbean and South Asian backgrounds.
This study was published in Nature Metabolism.
