Protein Consumption And Risk of Diabetes

The Study

In this investigation, 833 subjects who had lost weight were studied for 3 years. Subjects who had increased their protein consumption during this weight maintenance period had a significant decrease in BMI and a significant decrease in HbA1c, which is a long-term measure of blood sugar. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2021; 114:1847-48

Take Home Message

Adding a little more protein to your diet is a nice way to aid in the weight loss process. It also appears to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes. Just make sure you are picking your protein carefully.

Focus on healthy sources, such as lean meats (like chicken and turkey), low fat dairy, seafood, beans, nuts and lentils.

Limit unhealthy sources of protein, such as red meat, processed meat (like bacon, sausage and pepperoni) and full fat dairy.