Sugar found in red meat linked to higher type 2 diabetes risk, study finds

• A new study suggests that a higher intake of N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), a sugar present in red meat, is associated with a higher relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• The relationship remained statistically significant after adjusting for various factors, such as age, sex, physical activity, overall diet, smoking, and existing health conditions.
• While Neu5Gc is also found in some dairy products, the link with total dietary Neu5Gc appeared to be largely driven by meat-derived Neu5Gc.
• However, the study was observational and preliminary, meaning it does not prove cause and effect.

Diet is an important modifiable factor in the development of type 2 diabetes, with dietary patterns high in red and processed meat, and sugar-sweetened foods and drinks generally being associated with greater risk.

In particular, studies have consistently reported an association between higher red-meat consumption and incident type 2 diabetes. However, because much of this evidence is observational, it is difficult to establish causality.

One proposed mechanism linking red meat consumption to diabetes is the presence of a sugar known as N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), which is naturally produced by most mammals and can be found in some foods, particularly red meat such as beef and lamb, and to a lesser extent in dairy products.

Because Neu5Gc is foreign to the human body, the immune system can produce antibodies against it, which may promote inflammation and could lead to insulin resistance.

Now, preliminary findings presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy, report an association between higher dietary Neu5Gc intake and increased risk of developing diabetes.

Notably, the researchers found that people with the highest estimated dietary intake of Neu5Gc from meat had a 63% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest intake.

However, the researchers stress that the findings are preliminary, based on an observational study, and have not yet been peer-reviewed, so they cannot establish that Neu5Gc or red meat directly causes type 2 diabetes.