This Habit Could Spike Your Diabetes Risk by Nearly 50 Percent

I love a juicy steak once in a while. It’s very satisfying, but too much of a good thing can have serious health consequences. A large-scale study found that eating large amounts of red meat and other processed meats like bacon and deli meat can put you at risk for diabetes.

The researchers looked at data from 343,737 people with a mean age of 45.8, based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine their risk of diabetes. People who had the highest intake of red meat and other processed meat increased their risk of diabetes by up to 49 percent. The findings were published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Make Smart Swaps

It’s not all doom and gloom. By making a few swaps you can decrease your risk. Trying plant-based proteins that include nuts, legumes, and mushrooms for a healthy bit. The researchers also recommend increasing swapping red meat for poultry and fish. Swapping for plant-based alternatives can offer the most benefit.

Vegetarians At Less Risk For Cancer

If you are considering a plant-based diet a 2026 study in the journal Nature concludes that vegetarians have lower rates of cancer. The research based this conclusion by analyzing nearly 2 million people in nine studies across the globe.

“Poultry eaters had a lower risk of prostate cancer, pescatarian [seafood] diets were associated with lower risks of colorectal, breast and kidney cancer, vegetarian diets were associated with lower risks of cancers of the pancreas, breast, prostate, kidney and multiple myeloma,” according to the study.