Lean red meat in a balanced diet benefits gut and heart health. Consistency is key for lasting results.
A recent study conducted by scientists at Purdue University highlights that adhering to a consistent dietary pattern that includes lean red meat may help promote gut microbiota balance and support cardiovascular health.
Balanced Diets with Lean Red Meat Support Gut and Heart Health
Researchers in the study examined the impact of adopting and then periodically discontinuing a healthy U.S.-style dietary pattern, which included three ounces of lean red meat (beef and pork) daily. This process, referred to as “dietary pattern cycling,” was tested in healthy young adults.
The study aimed to determine how cycling on and off this balanced diet over three controlled cycles influences health markers, with a particular focus on gut microbiota diversity and cardiovascular health indicators.
“Each time participants adopted the healthy dietary pattern, their gut microbiota shifted to a beneficial composition, and cardiovascular markers, such as LDL cholesterol, showed improvement and were consistently linked with the changes in the gut bacteria,” explains Wayne Campbell, PhD, professor in the department of nutrition science at Purdue University and lead investigator on the study.
These results may also suggest that the gut microbiota may play a significant role in how diet influences cardiovascular health and underscore that lean red meats, when eaten as part of a balanced, healthy diet, may not adversely impact gut or heart health.
Consistency in Dietary Patterns Yields the Most Sustainable Health Benefits
The study highlights two important takeaways: intermittent healthy eating can offer benefits each time it’s resumed, but maintaining a balanced diet over time may yield more stable outcomes.
Returning to a habitual or “usual” diet that was unrestricted from the healthy U.S.-style dietary pattern effectively reversed beneficial microbiota changes and cardiovascular improvements within a few weeks. Notably, while the healthy dietary pattern improved serum lipid profiles quickly—within just three weeks—maintaining it consistently would likely be necessary to sustain these benefits.
“It’s better to consistently consume a healthy diet to support long-term health outcomes,” suggests Dr. Campbell. Dr. Campbell explains that this is true especially if you already enjoy lean red meat daily as part of a healthy balanced diet.
The study adds to a growing body of evidence supporting recommendations for consuming a balanced, healthy dietary pattern, that may include lean red meats, for long-term health benefits.
Reference: “Healthy Dietary Pattern Cycling Affects Gut Microbiota and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Results from a Randomized Controlled Feeding Trial with Young, Healthy Adults” by Yu Wang, Tzu-Wen L. Cross, Stephen R. Lindemann, Minghua Tang and Wayne W. Campbell, 24 October 2024, Nutrients.
DOI: 10.3390/nu16213619
The research was funded by the National Pork Board, the Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Follow us on Google and Google News.
21 Comments
No kidding! No meat eater needs “science” to tell them this common sense.
Read the last paragraph dumb dumb
The study was funded by the National Pork Board, the Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
I checked out the abstract from the scientific study that this article was based on, and it doesn’t mention the word meat once. Also, the diet that was used in the experiment was apparently not necessarily a meat-based diet (although it could be).
Here’s a quote from the study: “The recommended U.S.-style HDP, which can be vegetarian or omnivorous, features the consumption of nutrient-dense, high-quality protein foods that may include lean and unprocessed meats.”
*Note that it says It can be vegetarian or omnivorous (meat eating).
Thank you!
I noticed that too and had to laugh.
Telling porkies again…
Curious how much scitechdaily gets to publish an article with a “national pork board” by line. Absolute garbage scientific journalism. Funding sources matter and the actual study doesn’t test red meat consumption. This probably ain’t the place to get unbiased news. Also meat eaters would need to test their health metrics, stop eating meat, and test again to validate their common sense. Doubt many have.
Vested interests much?
Sounds like the study itself was saying that staying on a particular diet long-term can benefit the microbiome. It seems that this article or at least it’s headline is what is biased and misleading
I think the last paragraph should be first…
The study was funded by the National Pork Board, the Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. I think that says all you need to know.
What a joke:
The study was funded by the National Pork Board, the Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Go whole food vegan. Everything else is not good for us.
You wrong about that. Wild caught salmon with low mercury is dang good for you. It’s saved my heart!
Trust the science but not the scientists who were paid to reach the conclusion the funders wanted. Garbage research paid by the meat business. That’s why America is in this health crisis.
SciTechDaily either didn’t read the actual article or is getting paid to post this stuff with misleading headlines. Why? Look at the methods. This study DID NOT TEST WHETHER RED MEAT WAS BENEFICIAL IN cycling Healthy Dietary Pattern(s)!! This study includes vegetarian diets in the HDP data and doesn’t look at them separately! This study was not testing the effects of red meat. Read your articles Science Tech!
“Participant Recruitment
A previous crossover study was conducted to assess the effects of having a Healthy Vegetarian Dietary Pattern (lacto-ovo), without or with the addition of unprocessed or processed lean red meat, on gut microbiota in healthy young adults [7]. Results indicated that the inclusion and exclusion of red meat in an otherwise vegetarian diet did not impact changes in the gut microbiota profile attributable to the HDP. Because there was no differential response among the three dietary interventions, we used these data to assess the HDP cycling phenomenon on a chronological basis independent of the type of dietary interventions”
This is badly mischaracterized! (And I would guess there’s money behind that from these conflicts of interest… Shame on you so-called journalists/news)
In a nutshell, that’s part of what we’ve done.but we eat a variety of foods-virtual rainbow, We’re in our 70’s now. The thing cut out since our 20’s was eggs. Yes, we have them occasionally, but whole eggs are rare. Egg whites were the replacement for us. Our Angus is 96% lean. Most meats are in a stir fry, or soups’. Yes we’ve had some health issues, but hey, we’re older! We normally aim for 3.12 miles per day, eat well enough with our ‘5 S’s (I made up as .
a joke, Soup,Salad,Smoothie, Supper and Something Else). Works well enough
Red meat is poison and causes colon cancer. A Plant Based diet is the only diet science recommends. This study and this article is pure trash. Did you read the bottom? The study was funded by the National Pork Board, the Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association… did you think a meat-industry sponsored study would come up against meat? this is the same corporate BS they’ve been selling for years. Red meat is toxic to humans and the planet. And there is no need for it. And over 3000 studies back me up, not one by the meat industry. Do better Science magazine.
You are wrong. Fish is m e a t and very good for your body. In fact, eating salmon, starting at 55, healed my heart failure.
Thank you!
Following Biblical laws for human consumption