Scientists from Harvard University say that eating red meat just two times a week increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. But replacing red meat with plant-based protein sources, such as nuts and legumes, may reduce the chances of developing this condition. Foregoing meat can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to tackling climate change.

According to The Guardian, Type 2 diabetes is a growing health concern globally, with more than 400 million people diagnosed with the chronic disease. Type 2 diabetes is a serious burden on our healthcare system, but it is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease, cancer, and dementia.

In the new study, published on October 19 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data from 216,695 people gleaned from the Nurses’ Health Study II and the Health Professional Follow-up study.

The study participants completed questionnaires about their diets every two to four years, for up to 36 years. During that period, more than 22,000 of them developed Type 2 diabetes. Those who ate the most red meat had a 62% higher risk of developing the condition compared to people who ate the least. Every additional daily serving of processed red meat was associated with a 46% greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a Harvard news release, and every additional daily serving of unprocessed red meat was a associated with a 24% greater risk.

“Our findings strongly support dietary guidelines that recommend limiting the consumption of red meat, and this applies to both processed and unprocessed red meat,” said first author Xiao Gu, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The authors also estimated that swapping one daily serving of red meat for another protein source such as nuts or legumes was associated with a 30% lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.

“Given our findings and previous work by others, a limit of about one serving per week of red meat would be reasonable for people wishing to optimize their health and wellbeing,” said senior author Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard.