Chicken, dairy and whole grain meal versus red meat and refined grain
What it found
In 51 adults, a meal with chicken, dairy, nuts and whole grain bread led to lower insulin and glucose responses than a meal with ham and white bread, after four weeks on matching diets.
The study was in people.
What they found
Studies in people
Insulin after meals
Insulin levels after the meal were significantly higher after the red meat and refined grain meal than after the dairy, chicken, nuts and whole grain meal. The authors say this suggests the red meat diet reduced insulin sensitivity.
Glucose after meals
Total glucose response did not differ between the two meals overall. But in people with normal glucose tolerance, the red meat and refined grain meal raised glucose more, by 2.5 mmol/L over 3 hours, compared with the dairy, chicken, nuts and whole grain meal.
C-peptide
C-peptide levels were higher after the red meat and refined grain meal than after the dairy, chicken, nuts and whole grain meal. The authors say this difference was smaller than the insulin difference, suggesting the higher insulin was partly due to slower insulin clearance.
Triglycerides
Triglyceride levels after the meal did not differ significantly between the two meals, though there was a small difference in the incremental response.
Body weight
Body weight stayed almost unchanged throughout the study.
What the authors conclude
“The adverse insulin response to the red meat/refined grain meal relative to the dairy/chicken/nuts/wholegrain meal indicates possible mechanisms through which these diets might affect risk of type 2 diabetes.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that a red meat and refined grain meal after four weeks on a similar diet raised insulin and glucose responses compared with a dairy, chicken, nuts and whole grain meal.
- They say this is consistent with increased insulin resistance and may explain how these diets affect the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- They advise that further work is needed on individual components of the meal to find the most important factor.
How it was done
The authors wanted to know if a diet high in red and processed meat and refined grains raises the risk of type 2 diabetes by making insulin resistance worse or by raising blood sugar after meals.
Fifty-one adults without type 2 diabetes (17 with normal glucose tolerance and 34 with impaired glucose tolerance) ate either a red meat and refined grain diet or a dairy, chicken, nuts and whole grain diet for four weeks, then switched to the other diet after a three-week break. After each diet, they ate a matching test meal and had blood samples taken for 180 minutes.
What it can’t tell you
- The study lasted only four weeks, so it cannot show what happens over years.
- The meals differed in several ways, so it cannot say which specific component caused the differences.
- The study cannot prove that these meal responses lead to type 2 diabetes.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of South Australia, Australia
The paper
- Title
- Differential Effects of Red Meat/Refined Grain Diet and Dairy/Chicken/Nuts/Whole Grain Diet on Glucose, Insulin and Triglyceride in a Randomized Crossover Study
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Kim Y, Keogh JB, Clifton PM (2016). Differential Effects of Red Meat/Refined Grain Diet and Dairy/Chicken/Nuts/Whole Grain Diet on Glucose, Insulin and Triglyceride in a Randomized Crossover Study. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu8110687Free full textPubMed 27809219DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error