Scientists have linked sugar in red meat to a high risk of diabetes
Red meat is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, but the causes of this dependence are not fully understood. Scientists are considering the possible role of a substance that can enter the body with food and provoke a prolonged reaction of the immune system. About how sugar from red meat can be associated with the development of diabetes, see the Izvestia article.
How Sugar from Red meat is associated with diabetes risk
Researchers have found a link between the consumption of N-glycolylneuramic acid (Neu5Gc) from red meat and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study used data from 89,953 adult participants. The results are published in the journal Science Daily.
During the median follow-up period of 7.2 years, 966 new cases of type 2 diabetes were registered in the participants. People with the highest estimated intake of Neu5Gc from meat had a 63% higher risk of disease than those with the lowest intake. In the second largest group, this indicator was 41% higher.
Leopold Feze, lead author of the study from the Sorbonne University Paris-Nord
Our results confirm that chronic inflammation is a specific mechanism linking red meat consumption with type 2 diabetes, partly independent of the amount of red meat consumed and the amount of adipose tissue.
How Neu5Gc can affect the immune system
Neu5Gc is a type of sugar that most mammals naturally produce. In humans, due to an ancient mutation in the CMAH gene, this ability is lost, but the substance can enter the body with food. It is found primarily in red meat, especially beef and lamb, as well as in smaller amounts in dairy products.
After assimilation, Neu5Gc can integrate into the tissues of the human body. Since humans do not produce this molecule on their own, the immune system is able to recognize it as foreign and produce antibodies against it. A prolonged immune reaction that occurs in response to the presence of Neu5Gc in tissues is called xenosialyte. Previously, it was associated with cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
The researchers suggest that such a prolonged reaction may be associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. Chronic inflammation has the potential to disrupt the work of insulin-producing cells and tissues that respond to this hormone. However, the study does not prove that such a mechanism explains the discovered relationship.
What did the data analysis of almost 90 thousand people show?
The participants filled out three food diaries in which they recorded everything they ate in 24 hours. Using these records and a database on the content of Neu5Gc in products, scientists calculated the estimated consumption of the substance.
The analysis included different types of red meat, including beef, lamb, pork, rabbit, goat meat and game. Processed meat and dairy products were accounted for separately.
At the time of the start of the follow-up, the participants did not have type 2 diabetes or cancer. The average age was 42 years, 79% of the participants were women. The researchers divided people into five groups based on their estimated intake of Neu5Gc from meat, and then compared the incidence of diabetes.
The association between Neu5Gc consumption and disease risk persisted after age, gender, physical activity, nutritional quality, smoking, and a number of other factors were taken into account. After additional body mass index accounting, the relationship weakened, but remained statistically significant. At the same time, the estimated proportion of the link attributed to obesity was about 13%.
Separately, the scientists assessed the consumption of Neu5Gc from dairy products. It was not associated with an increased risk of diabetes. When calculating the total intake of the substance from all food sources, the risk in the group with the highest intake was 37% higher than in the group with the lowest. According to the authors, this association was mainly explained by Neu5Gc from red meat.
What do the scientists intend to check next
The authors emphasize that the results are preliminary and have not yet been finalized. The observational nature of the study does not allow us to determine whether Neu5Gc causes diabetes or whether the relationship found is due to other dietary and lifestyle factors.
In addition, the researchers assessed the intake of the substance based on food diaries, rather than measuring it directly in the body. They also did not take into account possible dietary changes during the follow-up. When the total amount of red meat eaten was additionally included in the analysis, the association with Neu5Gc weakened and ceased to be statistically significant. Therefore, it is not yet possible to separate the possible influence of the substance itself from the influence of other meat components.
Leopold Feze
Taken together, these results suggest that the association between Neu5Gc and type 2 diabetes may depend on its source in food: Neu5Gc obtained from meat shows a stronger association with the risk of type 2 diabetes compared to its total amount in food.
In the future, scientists plan to study how Neu5Gc interacts with other components of red meat, including heme iron. Another task is to directly measure antibodies to Neu5Gc in participants in large—scale studies. This will help to check whether a prolonged immune response really plays a role in the link between red meat consumption and type 2 diabetes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
