Red meat is associated with a reduced risk of diabetes

This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2012 Mar;95(3):752-8

Study title and authors:
Associations of processed meat and unprocessed red meat intake with incident diabetes: the Strong Heart Family Study.

Fretts AM, Howard BV, McKnight B, Duncan GE, Beresford SA, Mete M, Eilat-Adar S, Zhang Y, Siscovick DS.
Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22277554

The study investigated the relationship between meat consumption and diabetes. The study included 243 participants with diabetes.

The study found:
(a) Those who consumed the most unprocessed red meat had a 10% reduced risk of diabetes compared to those who consumed the least unprocessed red meat.
(b) Those who consumed the most processed meat had a 63% increased risk of diabetes compared to those who consumed the least unprocessed red meat.

The data from the study reveals unprocessed red meat is associated with a reduced risk of diabetes whereas processed meat is associated with a higher risk of diabetes.