Diabetes: Cutting out one popular food at dinner can ‘slash your risk of dying young’
Cutting out just one type of dinner food could be enough to slash your risk of dying young if you have diabetes.
A study found that people who eat a lot of processed meat in the evenings face a significantly higher risk of heart disease.
This means diabetics – around five million people in the UK – could live longer if they cut out foods like pies and sausages at dinner time.
Fat in the British favourites can trigger swelling in the blood vessels and raise the pulse rate, piling extra pressure on the heart overnight when it should be resting, the study said.
Processed meats include food like bacon, burgers, ham, ready meals, nuggets and pepperoni – but not home-cooked cuts like steaks or chops.
The study added that people should ideally eat green vegetables with a glass of milk for dinner to boost their health.
Read More on heart health
Dr Qingrao Song, of Harbin Medical University in China, said: “Nutritional guidelines for diabetes should include the optimal consumption times for foods in the future.
“We found that eating potatoes in the morning, whole grains in the afternoon, greens and milk in the evening and less processed meat in the evening was associated with better long-term survival in people with diabetes.”
Dr Song added that the times people eat certain foods could be just as important as portion sizes.
The study used data from 4,642 Americans with diabetes and compared their diet with their long-term health.
Most read in Health
It found people who ate the most processed meat in the evenings were 74 per cent more likely than average to die of heart disease.
The study, published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, also found heart risk was higher for people who feasted late on white bread, dough and pastries.