Seems you might get more than you bargained for with your $5 foot-long.
According to a study of heavy meat eaters published in the journal Diabetologia, a diet high in processed meats -- think bologna, salami, hot dogs and the like -- could increase your risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 40 percent.
The incidence of diabetes with a high meat diet rose 17 percent overall, but with red meat, the increase lept to over 20 percent. Processed meats drove diabetes risk even higher still.
But why, exactly? What is it about an Italian hoagie that could specifically cause type 2 diabetes?
The researchers involved speculate that the culprit could be nitrates.
"Nitrosamines can be formed by the interaction of amino compounds with nitrates present either in the stomach or within the food product,” they said. “[Nitrosamines] have been linked to beta cell toxicity. In addition, low doses of the nitrosamine streptozotocin were found to induce type 2 diabetes in animal models.”
Because beta cells produce and regulate the release of insulin, a diet heavy in anything that targets and kills them off is a recipe for a diabetes disaster. Healthy beta cells equal healthy glucose levels in the blood. Without them, glucose levels can spike unabated, insulin sensitivity plummets, and maintaining healthy blood sugar becomes a weighty challenge.
Clearly, maintaining a healthy diet is paramount to beating diabetes, or preventing diabetes and nearly any other serious health condition in the first place.
And no one would argue, save the commissioner of Major League Baseball, that hot dogs are a good choice, no matter what your health concerns are.
According to a study of heavy meat eaters published in the journal Diabetologia, a diet high in processed meats -- think bologna, salami, hot dogs and the like -- could increase your risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 40 percent.
The incidence of diabetes with a high meat diet rose 17 percent overall, but with red meat, the increase lept to over 20 percent. Processed meats drove diabetes risk even higher still.
But why, exactly? What is it about an Italian hoagie that could specifically cause type 2 diabetes?
The researchers involved speculate that the culprit could be nitrates.
"Nitrosamines can be formed by the interaction of amino compounds with nitrates present either in the stomach or within the food product,” they said. “[Nitrosamines] have been linked to beta cell toxicity. In addition, low doses of the nitrosamine streptozotocin were found to induce type 2 diabetes in animal models.”
Because beta cells produce and regulate the release of insulin, a diet heavy in anything that targets and kills them off is a recipe for a diabetes disaster. Healthy beta cells equal healthy glucose levels in the blood. Without them, glucose levels can spike unabated, insulin sensitivity plummets, and maintaining healthy blood sugar becomes a weighty challenge.
Clearly, maintaining a healthy diet is paramount to beating diabetes, or preventing diabetes and nearly any other serious health condition in the first place.
And no one would argue, save the commissioner of Major League Baseball, that hot dogs are a good choice, no matter what your health concerns are.
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