May 5, 2024

The Inflammatory Question: Red Meat Might Not Be So Bad for You After All

Research from the USDA/ARS Childrens Nutrition Research Center has revealed that red meat usage may not be straight connected to inflammation, contrary to some previous research studies. The team used cross-sectional information from older adults and discovered that after adjusting for BMI, there was no connection between red meat and swelling markers. Dr. Alexis Wood highlights that any dietary recommendations about red meat must be based on solid clinical evidence.
” We have actually reached a stage where more studies are needed before we can make suggestions to limit red meat consumption for reducing inflammation if we desire to base dietary recommendations on the most up-to-date proof,” Wood stated. “Red meat is popular, accessible, and palatable– and its place in our diet has deep cultural roots.

In addition to evaluating individuals self-reported food intake and several biomarkers, scientists also measured an array of dietary intake metabolites in blood. Plasma metabolites can assist capture the results of dietary intake as food is processed, absorbed, and taken in.
Researchers discovered that when adjusted for body mass index (BMI), consumption of unprocessed and processed red meat (beef, lamb, or pork) was not directly connected with any markers of inflammation, suggesting that body weight, not red meat, may be the motorist of increased systemic inflammation. Of specific interest was the lack of a link between red meat consumption and C-reactive protein (CRP), the major inflammatory danger marker of chronic disease.
” Our analysis contributes to the growing body of evidence that suggests the value of measuring plasma markers, such as metabolites, to track diet and illness danger associations, versus counting on self-reported dietary consumption alone,” Wood said. “Our analysis does not support previous observational research associations connecting red meat intake and swelling.”
The Need for Further Research
Because observational research studies can not suggest domino effect, randomized regulated trials (RCTs) where individuals are arbitrarily appointed to take in a dietary factor of interest or not consume it, are needed as an additional line of proof to sufficiently understand if red meat does not modify swelling. A number of RCTs have shown that lean unprocessed beef can be enjoyed in heart-healthy dietary patterns.
” We have reached a phase where more studies are required before we can make suggestions to restrict red meat consumption for reducing swelling if we desire to base dietary suggestions on the most up-to-date evidence,” Wood said. “Red meat is popular, available, and tasty– and its place in our diet plan has deep cultural roots. Offered this, suggestions about decreasing intake should be supported by strong scientific proof, which does not yet exist.”
Recommendation: “Untargeted metabolomic analysis investigating links between unprocessed red meat consumption and markers of swelling” by Alexis C. Wood, Goncalo Graca, Meghana Gadgil, Mackenzie K. Senn, Matthew A. Allison, Ioanna Tzoulaki, Philip Greenland, Timothy Ebbels, Paul Elliott, Mark O. Goodarzi, Russell Tracy, Jerome I. Rotter and David Herrington, 1 September 2023, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.DOI: 10.1016/ j.ajcnut.2023.08.018.
Other factors to this work include Goncalo Graca, Meghana Gadgil, Mackenzie K. Senn, Matthew A. Allison, Ioanna Tzoulaki, Philip Greenland, Timothy Ebbels, Paul Elliott, Mark O. Goodarzi, Russell Tracy, Jerome I. Rotter and David Herrington.
The study was supported by the Beef Checkoff. Wood was supported, in part, by the USDA/ARS (Cooperative Agreement 58-3092-5-001). Mark Goodarzi was supported by the Eris M. Field Chair in Diabetes Research. Jerome Rotter was supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (DK063491), from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR001881), the CHARGE Consortium, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI; R01HL105756).

Research study from the USDA/ARS Childrens Nutrition Research Center has exposed that red meat intake may not be straight linked to swelling, contrary to some prior studies. The team utilized cross-sectional information from older adults and found that after adjusting for BMI, there was no connection between red meat and swelling markers. Dr. Alexis Wood emphasizes that any dietary suggestions about red meat need to be based upon solid clinical proof.
Inflammation is a danger aspect for many persistent illness, consisting of heart disease (CVD), and the effect of diet plan on inflammation is a location of growing clinical interest. In specific, recommendations to limit red meat consumption are typically based, in part, on old studies suggesting that red meat adversely impacts swelling– yet more current research studies have actually not supported this.
” The role of diet plan, consisting of red meat, on swelling and disease threat has not been adequately studied, which can cause public health suggestions that are not based on strong proof,” said Dr. Alexis Wood, associate teacher of pediatrics– nutrition at the USDA/ARS Childrens Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Childrens Hospital. “Our group sought to take a closer look by using metabolite information in the blood, which can provide a more direct link between diet and health.”
Approach and Findings
Wood and her group examined cross-sectional information recorded from approximately 4,000 older grownups taking part in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), and recently published their findings in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Cross-sectional information is a helpful source of evidence on how diet plan affects health; it utilizes information that is observed with free-living individuals, without attempting to affect their normal way of life. In this method, it may be simpler to take arise from such studies and apply them to non-research settings.