TUESDAY, Feb. 26, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- If your diet is laden with processed meats, you may be setting the table for type II diabetes.
Harvard researchers say men who load up on hot dogs, bacon, salami, and the like are at a much higher risk of developing type II diabetes than are those who eat fewer of these foods. The reason for the link isn't clear. It could be simply a reflection of a generally unhealthful diet rich in animal fat and low in fruits and vegetables. However, the researchers say some evidence suggests that nitrates in processed meats may harm cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, the hormone that helps the body convert sugar into energy.
The study, which appears in the March issue of Diabetes Care, included more than 42,000 men, ages 40 to 75, participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. None of the men had diabetes, heart disease, or cancer when they entered the research project in 1986.
Over the next 12 years, 1,321 of the volunteers were diagnosed with type II diabetes, according to the researchers. Those who reported eating processed meats five or more times a week were 46 percent more likely to develop the blood sugar problem than those who ate such foods less than once a month.
In a study published earlier this month, the Harvard researchers reported that men who embrace the "western" diet -- replete with red and processed meats, french fries, fatty dairy products, and sweets -- are far more likely to have diabetes than those who eat more fruits and vegetables. And some of that effect may be spilling over into the latest analysis.
Yet even after adjusting for fat intake and other risk factors, like smoking and exercise habits, "processed meat stands out as an important risk factor for diabetes," says Dr. Frank Hu, a co-author of both studies.
Hu admits that processed meats are often just one part of a person's otherwise lamentable diet. "People who eat more processed meats are more likely to eat other unhealthy foods like red meat and refined carbohydrates, so the results may simply reflect an unhealthy eating pattern," he says.
On the other hand, Hu says, preliminary evidence suggests that the nitrates found in processed meat products may damage beta cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin. While type II diabetes occurs when cells become resistant to insulin, reduced production of the substance is also a factor in the illness, he says.
But other experts note that some vegetables contain nitrates. Fresh carrots, for example, contain so much of the chemicals that parents are discouraged from making their own pureed baby food out of the taproot.
Americans bought more than 1 billion pounds of beef, pork, and poultry hot dogs in 2000, according to the American Meat Institute. Last year, the nation's top 10 vendors sold 1.3 billion packages of sliced lunch meats, 76 million packages of unsliced lunch meats, and 648 million packages of bacon.
"Our message is that it is not the meat in itself that does harm, it's meats eaten to the exclusion of
other foods," said Josee Daoust, a spokeswoman for the Arlington, Va.-based meat group.
What To Do
Nearly 16 million Americans suffer from diabetes, 90 percent of whom have the type II, or adult-onset, form of the disease. Runaway blood sugar can cause kidney damage, blindness and disabling nerve problems. The illness is also a powerful risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular conditions.
For more information, try the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders or the American Diabetes Association.
