Despite similar maconutrient compositions, meat and dairy-products have different effects on the risk of diabetes. Dairy-products (even the whole-fat varieties) seem to be protective or neutral in regards to diabetes. This could be because dairy-products are VERY insulinogenic and of course this makes perfect sense because the purpose of milk is to promote anabolism, the way in which it does that primarily is by elevating insulin/IGF-1 signaling. And it probably isn't the amino-acids per say that does this... but rather the vast multitude of different peptides that derive from the whey and casein proteins.
Meat on the other hand doesn't contain (to my knowledge) any bioactive-peptides. And studies show that high consumption of meat DOES in fact increase the risk for diabetes when compared to vegetarians and strict vegans. Researchers originally thought that the saturated-fat from meat contributes to lipotoxicity and therefore nullifies the potency of insulin... but dairy-products contain just and much and sometimes more saturated-fat than meat! Recent theories suggest meat putrefies in our intestines and feeds bad bacteria that promote diabetes causing substances like TMAO and endotoxins.
No one really knows for sure why meat contributes to diabetes.
My bet would be on two overlooked culprits: Heme-iron and arachidonic-acid. Studies show that heavy consumption of meat increases levels of ferritin because heme-iron (which is only found in meat) is absorbed indiscriminately (unlike non-heme-iron found in plant-foods, which the body can and does, carefully control absorption rate). High levels of iron in the body directly damage the insulin producing beta-cells of the pancreas as well as altering adipocyte storage capacity, leading to excessive lipolysis and subsequent lipotoxicity.
Another mechanism is with a hormone called prostaglandin-E2 which is produced from the consumption of arachidonic-acid. The main source of arachidonic-acid is in egg-yolks and meat (poultry in particular). Prostaglandin-E2 is show to reduce secretion of insulin from the beta-cells and reduces beta-cell mass/proliferation. This could explain why the prevalence of diabetes in America has paralleled the consumption of poultry.
Dairy-products despite being "high-fat" or "high in saturated-fat", do not contain much arachidonic-acid and naturally come balanced with omega-3's, which lowers production of the harmful prostaglandin-E2, dairy-products are also virtually iron free, meaning consumption of dairy-products will not lead to elevated ferritin. And of course the best way to avoid heme-iron and arachidonic-acid is to eat a plant-based diet.
LongeCityAdvocacy & Research for Unlimited Lifespans
