Caution to pregnant women on red meat diabetes link
Pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant can make use of the holiday season to adjust their diets and reduce the risk of gestational diabetes, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide’s Robinson Institute.
The recommendation comes at a time when there is increasing evidence to suggest that red meat is linked with a higher rate of gestational diabetes in pregnant women, which poses risks to the health of both the mother and the baby.
In a commentary published in this month’s journal Evidence-Based Nursing, author Philippa Middleton says the latest international research shows that women who eat a lot of red and processed meats even before they become pregnant have a significant risk of developing gestational diabetes.
“There have been several reports linking red meat with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and now the work of a number of research teams worldwide is showing this link for diabetes during pregnancy,” says Ms Middleton, who is one of the Robinson Institute’s research leaders.
“While this news is alarming, there are also some positives. The latest research from the United States has shown that eating fish and poultry does not increase the risk of gestational diabetes, and consuming more vegetable and non-meat protein is associated with a reduction in risk.
“For example, just over half a serving of nuts per day can reduce the risk of gestational diabetes by 40%.”
Gestational diabetes shows up in 4 to 8 percent of pregnancies, affecting 135,000 women in the United States alone each year. The biggest threat posed by gestational diabetes is that the developing infant runs a high risk of being born with type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes affects almost 200 million people worldwide today, and shows all the signs of being classified as a modern day epidemic.
It is estimated that the number of diabetics in the world will double by the next decade. Studies have shown that the trend has a 2 to 1 ratio between women and men. The higher incidence of diabetes in women has also led to the existence of another type of diabetes known as gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes shows up in 4 to 8 percent of pregnancies, affecting 135,000 women in the United States alone each year. The biggest threat posed by gestational diabetes is that the developing infant runs a high risk of being born with type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes affects 90 percent of the world’s diabetics, and involves the blood cells having a high resistance rate to insulin, resulting in an increased demand on the pancreatic cells of the body which generate insulin. Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to obesity, and is a leading cause of both blindness and heart failure.
Women who develop gestational diabetes run the risk of complications during pregnancy aside from the fact that their infants may be born with type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes has been known to lead to hemorrhaging and other difficulties during childbirth, as well as leading to a few stillbirths. Thankfully, the number of fatalities as a result of the complications of gestational diabetes are low.
Ms Middleton says although the link between red meat and diabetes is strengthening, scientists still don’t understand the underlying mechanisms that cause it.
“More research is needed to better understand why this is happening and how to adapt women’s diets and other lifestyle behaviors to prevent both gestational and type 2 diabetes,” she says.
“Based on current evidence, pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant should consider eating more vegetable protein, and nuts, and replacing some red meat with fish and poultry.
“Midwives, dieticians and others involved in pregnancy care can help women to make these dietary changes in the hope of reducing poor outcomes for the mother and the baby,” Ms Middleton says.
The full commentary can be found at the journal’s website.
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Media contact:
Philippa Middleton
Executive Director
Australian Research Center for Health of Women and Babies (ARCH)
Robinson Institute
The University of Adelaide
Phone: +618 8161 7612
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