Blood sugar and inflammation not raised by total Red meat intake, finds study

USA: The consumption of total red meat (TRM) for 16 weeks did not affect inflammation or blood sugar control in adults at risk for cardiometabolic disease, suggests a recent study in the journal Advances in Nutrition. The findings are significant are red meat intake is known to increase the risk of diabetes.

Earlier studies have shown that meat intake is associated with fasting blood sugar and insulin concentrations in people without diabetes mellitus. 

Lauren E O'Connor, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review to evaluate the effects of total Red meat intake on inflammatory and blood sugar biomarkers using RCTs of individual free from cardiometabolic disease.

The researchers hypothesized that higher intake of TRM would have a negative influence on blood sugar control and inflammation based on positive corelations between total Red meat and diabetes. The study included 24 eligible articles from 1172 articles searched from online databases up to August 2019 that included -- 1) data on fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), C-reactive protein (CRP), or cytokines 2) no diagnosed cardiometabolic disease 3) participants aged ≥19 years 4) included either men or women who were not pregnant/lactating 5) diet periods differing in total Red meat.