Type 2 diabetes, from gut bacteria to red meat: two new clues for detecting it early

According to Gabriel Baldanzi, of Cibio at the University of Trento and lead author of the study, the aim is not to replace current diagnostic tests, but to provide an additional early warning sign: ‘If we could identify changes in the gut microbiome at an early stage and show the individual that they are on the right track, this could provide strong motivation to continue with lifestyle changes’.

The second study, conducted in France on nearly 90,000 adults as part of the NutriNet-Santé survey, looks instead at a possible dietary mechanism: Neu5Gc, a sugar not produced by the human body but found in red meat – particularly beef and lamb – and, to a lesser extent, in dairy products. Once absorbed, Neu5Gc is incorporated into human tissues, where the immune system recognises it as foreign, triggering low-grade chronic inflammation.

According to the analysis, led by Leopold Fezeu of the Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, people who consume more Neu5Gc from meat have a 63 per cent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who consume less, even when taking into account physical activity, diet quality, smoking and other health conditions; the association remains significant even when BMI is taken into account, and the researchers estimate that only 13 per cent of the link can be explained by obesity.

However, no significant association was found for Neu5Gc from dairy products, which is present in much smaller quantities.

“Our findings support chronic inflammation as a specific mechanism linking red meat consumption to type 2 diabetes,” says Fezeu, who suggests investigating whether favouring poultry or plant-based proteins over beef and lamb might help prevent the condition. The authors emphasise, however, that these are preliminary findings, which have not yet been validated or published in a scientific journal, and that – as this is an observational study – it is not possible to establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

Taken together, the two studies reinforce a view that is gaining ground in diabetes research: that risk signals emerge long before clinical diagnosis, and that identifying them, through the microbiome or dietary habits, may open up new avenues forprevention that is currently untapped.