Eating one to two servings of unprocessed beef each day can be enjoyed as part of a heart-healthy diet, according to a recent analysis of nutrition research.
The study was conducted by scientists at the Indiana University School of Public Health and funded by the National Cattleman's Beef Association (NCBA).
It found that eating unprocessed beef did not increase risk factors for heart disease, challenging the conventional view that red meat is linked to heart disease.
However, the scientists said that previous studies had often based their findings on observation, meaning they analyzed participants' diets, then found out what happened to their health and made links between the two.
Previous studies have typically measured the health effects of red meat by grouping all types of red meat together, from lamb chops to hot dogs, and concluding that people who eat more of it are more likely to develop conditions such as heart disease.
"Given the disparity of products in the 'red meat' category, study methods that group all red meats together can lead to overly generalized findings," Kevin C. Maki, co-lead of this study and an adjunct professor at Indiana University School of Public Health, said in a statement.
But in this study, the scientists analyzed data from 20 randomized controlled trials—considered the gold standard of nutrition research—and specifically looked at what happened in the blood of people who ate more beef.
In Maki's words, the scientists found that "results have generally indicated that beef consumption has no adverse effects on traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease."
Specifically, they found that eating unprocessed beef did not impact blood pressure or fatty substances in the blood related to heart disease risk, such as total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (known as "good" cholesterol), triglycerides and more.
The scientists attributed this to the balance of fats in unprocessed beef—namely, that it does contain cholesterol-raising fats, but in lower amounts than cholesterol-lowering or neutral fats.
However, they did find that regularly eating beef was associated with a small rise in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (known as "bad" cholesterol) compared to eating no or not much beef—but they primarily attributed this to one outlier study.
Also, this effect was seen among people eating an average of 5.7 ounces, or two servings, of beef per day, far higher than the 1.6 ounces consumed by the average American adult.
"This research is a rigorous review of high-quality evidence, which can be useful for informing accurate and reliable public health guidance about unprocessed beef in healthy dietary patterns," Maki said. "Our findings suggest that beef may be enjoyed in a variety of heart-healthy diets."
Overall, the study suggests that negative health outcomes associated with eating red meat might be a result of processed or ultra-processed meats—such as bacon, deli meats, hamburger patties, hot dogs and more—rather than unprocessed beef.
The NCBA, which funded the study, is a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, which describes itself as "a national marketing and research program designed to increase the demand for beef at home and abroad."
The NCBA has said it was not involved in the study design, data collection, analysis or publication of this research.
The study was published this month in the scientific journal Current Developments in Nutrition.
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Reference
Sanders, L. M., Palacios, O. M., Wilcox, M. L., Maki, K. C. (2024). Beef Consumption and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, Current Developments in Nutrition, 8(12): 104500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104500
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