Sugar from Red Meat Linked to Higher Diabetes Risk

A sugar molecule found mainly in beef and lamb could increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. This is suggested by preliminary data from a French study of almost 90,000 adults.

It has long been known that eating a lot of red meat is associated with a higher risk of diabetes. Why this is the case, however, is unclear. French researchers presented a possible explanation at the 2026 annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan: the sugar N-glycolylneuraminic acid, Neu5Gc for short.

A sugar that humans do not produce themselves

Most mammals produce Neu5Gc themselves, but humans do not. We take it in through food, mainly through red meat and to a lesser extent through dairy products. Researchers suspect that the immune system reacts to the foreign sugar and thereby promotes chronic inflammation.

The results

The team led by Leopold Fezeu of Université Sorbonne Paris Nord analysed data from 89,953 adults in the NutriNet-Santé cohort. At the outset, none had diabetes. Over an average of just over seven years, 966 participants developed type 2 diabetes.

• Those with the highest intake of Neu5Gc from meat had a 63 per cent higher relative risk of diabetes than the group with the lowest intake.
• Neu5Gc from dairy products showed no association.
• Excess weight explained only a small part of the association, about 13 per cent.

Editorial assessment

The results are preliminary and have not yet been peer-reviewed in a journal. As an observational study, it cannot prove a causal relationship. Importantly, when the researchers took into account the total amount of red meat consumed, the association was weaker and no longer statistically clear. Neu5Gc therefore cannot yet be clearly separated from meat consumption itself. In addition, the increase in absolute risk for the individual is considerably smaller than the 63 per cent suggests.

The existing recommendation remains unchanged: eat red and processed meat in moderation and switch more often to poultry, fish or pulses.

Sources

• Fezeu L. et al., EASD Annual Meeting 2026, Milan (conference presentation) – reported by Medical News Today, 02.10.2026