In the management of diabetes diet plays a key role. Recent studies have shown that greater consumption of red meat leads to higher risk of type 2 diabetes and substituting red meat with high protein diet lowers the risk.

    A prospective study published in 'The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition' evaluated the correlation between decreased intake of red meat along with high protein supplementation and risk of type 2 diabetes. The study included 27,634 males in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 46,023 females in the Nurses' Health Study, and 75,196 females in the Nurses’ Health Study II. Diet was assessed by a validated FFQ and updated every 4y. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for T2DM risk factors were used to model the food replacements. We calculated HRs and 95% CIs for the T2DM risk associated with replacements of 1 daily serving of red meat with another protein source. In the pooled analyses, a decrease in total red meat intake during a four year period replaced with another common protein food was associated with a lower risk of T2DM in the subsequent 4-y period. The HR (95% CI) per 1 serving/d was 0.82 (0.75, 0.90) for poultry, 0.87 (0.77, 0.98) for seafood, 0.82 (0.78, 0.86) for low-fat dairy, 0.82 (0.77, 0.86) for high-fat dairy, 0.90 (0.81, 0.99) for eggs, 0.89 (0.82, 0.98) for legumes, and 0.83 (0.78, 0.89) for nuts.

      The study concluded that replacing red meat consumption with other protein sources reduces risk of type 2 diabetes.