Red and Processed Meat Linked to Type 2 Diabetes

From Time. Before you go throwing out your red meat, read the article and my comments below.

"As summer comes to a close, so does BBQ season. That's a good thing for your health, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which finds that consumption of red and processed meat — including summer cook-out favorites like hot dogs, hamburgers and pork ribs — is associated with an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed data on 200,000 men and women who participated in the long-term Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and the Nurses' Health Studies. They also conducted a larger analysis, which included data from other previously published studies, looking at a total of 442,101 participants, 28,228 of whom developed Type 2 diabetes during the study period.

After adjusting for contributing risk factors like age, weight, exercise habits, smoking, genetic predispositions and other dietary factors, the researchers found a strong association between eating red meat, particularly processed meat, and risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Among their findings:

• Each 2-oz. serving of processed meat, including hot dogs, bacon, salami and other cold cuts, per day accounted for a 51% increase in diabetes risk

• A 3.5-oz. serving of unprocessed red meat, such as hamburger, steak, pork or lamb, per day was linked to a 19% increase in risk of diabetes

• Replacing one serving per day of red and processed meats with healthier options, such as nuts, whole grains and low-fat dairy, accounted for a 16% to 35% reduction in diabetes risk

The researchers weren't sure exactly why red meat may contribute to diabetes risk, but senior author Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), hypothesized that the high amount of heme iron in red meat could be responsible; iron helps prevent anemia, but the Western diet contains an iron overload, and high levels of iron in the body have been associated with Type 2 diabetes."

Researchers may not be sure, but I can tell you from the diabetic cat food perspective: it ain't the eater--it's the meat itself. Cows are fed grains, soy, and god knows what else, and all that stuff eventually makes its way into the tissues. We eat the tissues, and suffer as a result. Soy directly affects diabetics because it shuts down hormone production, and the pancreas produces insulin, a hormone. Even when injected insulin is on board, it, too, is a hormone that gets shut down. Thyroid patients also suffer in this same way--thyroid is a hormone, and gets shut down by soy.

Infertile? Having trouble getting pregnant? Blame soy and all the sources of it.

Cows that consume grains are also harmful to diabetics, because grain breaks down into what? Sugar. What happens to that sugar? It gets stored as fat. And the cows are kept where? In small pens with no chance for exercise to work that fat off.

This is why everyone (animals, too)--not just diabetics--should eat grass-fed meat. The researchers undoubtedly did not test grass-fed meat, which has none of these effects on humans.

This is the fallout from demanding ever-cheaper food: the quality suffers, and the cows in turn get fed whatever's cheapest, even if it's not in your best health interests.

Now, go ahead and throw out your PROCESSED and COMMERCIALLY-FED meat just because it's a toxic sewer of meat scraps, by-products, and lumps of meat with unwanted substances in it. But if you already eat GRASS-FED meat, don't get excited in the least--you're doing fine.

When I was making cat food for my diabetic cat, I had to go so far as to source soy-free and grain-free eggs and supplements, as well as meat, just to keep her under control.

You think grass-fed meat is expensive? Check again in a couple of years--it's only going higher from here due to demand, and lack of subsidy. I can't wait for the day when a collapse of Big Farm occurs (too big to fail? Nope--it's regulations that'll do it in), and everybody is forced to go back to old-fashioned livestock-rearing. Then, all meat will be grass-fed, and it will be more affordable than the factory farm stuff + the health insurance you'll need to go along with it. One day, low-income people will wake up and find fruits and veggies more affordable than fast food + health care costs.

Looking at it from a distance, Uncle Sam is killing you by subsidizing the factory farm method. It's almost your meat or your life...and it's ALWAYS your money or your life. You can always get more money, but you only have one life. Are you going to let Uncle Sam and Big Farm take you down?