A sugar found naturally in red meat may help explain why high consumption of the food has long been linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, according to new research. Preliminary results of an observational study presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy, September 28–October 2, found that people with the highest intake of a sugar called N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) had a significantly greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those consuming the least. Researchers analyzed data from 89,953 adults taking part in France's NutriNet-Santé study, a long-running project investigating links between diet, lifestyle and health.
Participants did not have type 2 diabetes or cancer when they joined the study and were followed for a median of 7.2 years. Leopold Fezeu of Université Sorbonne Paris Nord in Bobigny, France, told Newsweek: “As is often observed with high red meat consumption, participants with the highest meat-derived Neu5Gc intake had a somewhat less favorable profile at baseline: slightly higher body weight, more frequent hypertension and blood lipid disorders, lower overall diet quality, and more smokers. However, Fezeu noted that some participants may have already had prediabetes at the start of the study, and unmeasured lifestyle factors could have influenced the findings, meaning further research is needed to confirm the results.
Neu5Gc is a sugar naturally produced by most mammals and is found mainly in red meat, particularly beef and lamb, and in smaller amounts in dairy products. Humans cannot produce the sugar themselves because of an ancient genetic mutation. Scientists say that when people eat foods containing Neu5Gc, the compound can be absorbed into the body and trigger an immune response because it is recognized as a foreign molecule.
This ongoing immune activity has previously been linked to conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer. To investigate whether Neu5Gc could also play a role in diabetes, researchers estimated participants' intake using detailed dietary records and a database measuring the Neu5Gc content of different foods. Participants were then divided into five groups based on their intake of meat-derived Neu5Gc.
During the study period, 966 participants developed type 2 diabetes. The analysis found that people in the highest Neu5Gc intake group had a 63 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those in the lowest group, even after accounting for age, sex, physical activity, smoking, overall diet quality and existing health conditions. Researchers also found a dose-response relationship, meaning the risk increased as Neu5Gc intake rose.
People in the second-highest intake group had a 41 percent greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those in the lowest group. Fezeu said in a statement that the findings support the idea that chronic inflammation may be one mechanism linking red meat consumption and type 2 diabetes. "Our findings support chronic inflammation as a specific mechanism linking red meat consumption with T2D, partly beyond the amount of red meat a person eats and partly independent of body fat," Fezeu said.
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