Eating just two bacon sandwiches a week is enough to increase your risk of condition which ‘kills 70 Brits every day’

SCOFFING down just two bacon sarnies a week is enough to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, research reveals.

Harvard experts found for every additional portion of red meat, be that a burger or two sausages, peoples risk shoots up by a whopping 46 per cent.

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Those who ate the most red meat had a 62 per cent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those who ate the least.[/caption]

Even unprocessed red meats, like beef from a roast dinner, increases chances of developing of the silent killer by 24 per cent.

It adds to previous research that says red meat consumption may lead to cancer, heart disease and death.

The latest study found suggests replacing red meat with healthy plant-based protein sources, like veggies and nuts, can reduce people’s chances of developing the disease by 30 per cent.

It’s author, Dr Xiao Gu, said: “Our findings strongly support dietary guidelines that recommend limiting the consumption of red meat, and this applies to both processed and unprocessed red meat.”

There are a record five million people thought to have type 1 or type 2 diabetes in the UK – with 4.3m diagnosed and another 850,000 who don’t know they have it.

The illness occurs when the body loses the ability to metabolise sugar, mainly as a result of weight gain and poor lifestyle.

And it is one of the leading causes of blindness, amputation, stroke and heart disease.

According to Diabetes UK, 70 people living with diabetes die prematurely every day in England and Wales, due to complications associated with the disease.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, involved analysing at the diets and health status of 216,695 people for 36 years.

During this time, more than 22,000 of them developed type 2 diabetes.

Those who ate the most red meat had a 62 per cent higher risk of developing the condition compared to those who ate the least.

Author Prof Walter Willett, said: “Given our findings and previous work by others, a limit of about one serving per week of red meat would be reasonable for people wishing to optimise their health and wellbeing.”

Obesity is driving up rates of type 2, which is often triggered by junk food and lazy lifestyles, unlike type 1 which cannot be prevented.

Patients with either version should see a nurse for regular blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar checks to keep their condition under control.