Grilled meat can signif­icantly increase the chance of developing diabetes

Scientists have discovered that regularly eating grilled bacon, a sausage sandwich or a cooked breakfast can send obesity and diabetes rates soaring. Such cooking methods have long been hailed as the healthier alternative to fried food. But now it appears that eating grilled and roasted food can be just as bad for you. Researchers at Mount Sinai University, in New York, have discovered that a compound found when food is cooked in dry heat can trigger significant weight gain, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Last year, a study revealed that eating just 50g of processed red meat a day – the equivalent of one sausage or two rashers of bacon – is enough to increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes by 51 per cent. Unprocessed red meat such as steak has also been found to be a major risk, with just 100g a day increasing your chances of having the condition by a fifth. And the cooking method is also a factor, with barbecuing, frying – and now grilling and roasting – particularly dangerous.

These key findings should inform how we understand and prevent the human epidemic of obesity and diabetes Professor Helen Vlassara

Eating overcooked meat with a dark crust on the outside more than doubles the risk of cancer. Frying and grilling is particularly hazardous because the intense heat turns the sugars and amino acids of muscle tissue into high levels of cancer-causing compounds. Researchers have now found that grilling and roasting food creates a compound called methylglyoxal (MG) – a type of advanced glycation end product (AGE). These AGEs have been found to lower the body’s protective mechanisms that control inflammation. And inflammation is known to trigger a host of chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis and Alzheimer’s. Professor Helen Vlassara, whose research is published in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said:

“These key findings should inform how we understand and prevent the human epidemic of obesity and diabetes. “For more than 30 years we have been studying the potential of eliminating harmful AGEs from the body – and now from food as one way to curb the diabetes epidemic. Our findings reflect the need for a dramatic departure from standard clinical recommendations, which should now include a reduction in the amount of dry heat and processed foods in the diet.” Her team recommend different methods of cooking such as stewing, poaching or steaming instead of grilling. Nearly three million people in Britain have been diagnosed with diabetes and 850,000 are unaware that they have the condition.