With the Help of a Year-Long Study, Bodybuilding Legend Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals the Surprising Role of High-Protein Diet in Diabetes Care

Since the inception of 2023, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been on a mission to help people get fit. He started Arnold’s Pump Club, a free daily newsletter that has health and fitness tips, motivational stories, and simple exercises that one can do at almost any place. In the latest edition of his newsletter, Schwarzenegger talks about a disease and a possible way of controlling it that 38 million Americans are fighting, i.e., type 2 diabetes.

The Seven-time Olympia, in his newsletter, writes how a year-long study has shown some fascinating results about the relationship between eating lean red meat, a high-protein diet, and type 2 diabetes.

Red meat consumption has been in the news for mostly controversial reasons. It is often associated with weight gain and heart health issues. But this happens generally for two reasons, the first being overconsumption, which leads to consuming far more calories than needed. The second is eating the more saturated-fat version of red meat, which results in an “increase in LDL and Apo B, both of which are associated with cardiovascular issues.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about how losing body fat, eating a high-protein diet, and consuming red meat in the right way can help people put type 2 diabetes in remission

In this study, participants were followed up for a year while also taking care of the above-mentioned factors of meat. One group was given a moderately high-protein diet without red meat, and the other a high-protein diet with lean red meat (low in saturated fat.) Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote that in the study, both groups saw improvements in multiple areas, including fasting glucose levels, glycemic control, and weight loss.

“Both groups improved cardiometabolic health, saw reductions in HbA1c and fasting glucose levels, and better glycemic control. The moderate-protein group lost 28 pounds, while the high-protein group lost 22.5 pounds.”

 

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Both groups lost a good amount of fat, and this loss, especially from the liver and pancreas, is of particular importance. This finding, in particular, played a pivotal role in this study, as losing fat in these areas helps improve insulin sensitivity. As a result, a good chunk of people from both groups did not meet the criteria for the disease, indicating they were in remission from type 2 diabetes.

“38 percent of the participants in both groups no longer met the criteria for type 2 diabetes, suggesting they were in remission from the disease.”

The research showed that though consuming protein or a particular food can be beneficial in such cases, losing body fat plays a more crucial role in managing, preventing, and putting type 2 diabetes into remission.