More than 135 million adults in the United States have or are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D), increasing the need for reliable nutrition guidance backed by scientific research. A newly published randomized controlled trial (RCT) found that eating 6 to 7 ounces of beef daily had no negative effects on blood sugar regulation, insulin function, inflammation, or other markers of cardiometabolic health in adults with prediabetes.
The study was published in the same journal as “The effects of a diet containing beef compared with poultry on pancreatic beta-cell function and other cardiometabolic health indicators in prediabetic men and women: a randomized crossover trial.” Current developments in nutrition.
“The results of this gold standard RCT build on existing scientific evidence showing that eating beef as part of a healthy dietary pattern supports heart health and has no negative effects on blood sugar regulation or measurements of inflammation,” said Kevin C. Maki, Ph.D., adjunct professor at Indiana University Bloomington and lead author of the paper. “Consuming beef as part of a healthy dietary pattern helps fill essential nutritional gaps and does not negatively impact cardiometabolic risk profiles compared to chicken.”
Beef and chicken showed similar metabolic effects
The clinical trial involved 24 otherwise healthy adults (17 men and 7 women, ages 18 to 74) who were overweight or obese and had prediabetes. The researchers used a crossover design. This means that all participants followed both meal plans during the study.
Each participant completed two separate 28-day diet periods with a 28-day washout period in between. During the intervention, participants ate meals containing cooked beef or chicken twice a day. Each entrée contained approximately 3.0 to 3.5 ounces of meat and was served in dishes such as fajitas, burgers, stews, burritos, and stir-fries.
Researchers looked at blood sugar and insulin function
Type 2 diabetes usually develops gradually as the body becomes more resistant to insulin over time. At the same time, the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas often lose their ability to function properly. To assess how diet affected glucose regulation, the researchers measured pancreatic beta-cell function, insulin sensitivity, and glucoregulatory hormones before and after each meal phase.
After 28 days, the researchers found no statistically significant differences between the beef and chicken diets on any measures of pancreatic beta-cell function or insulin sensitivity. In other words, in this group of prediabetic adults, daily consumption of unprocessed beef had similar results as poultry.
“The results of this study suggest that regular beef consumption, compared to poultry, does not negatively impact metabolism or inflammatory risk factors in an at-risk prediabetic population,” said Indika Edirisinghe, Ph.D., professor of food science and nutrition at the Illinois Institute of Technology. “Although the study period was relatively short (one month), this period is generally considered to be sufficient to detect measurable metabolic results.”
Research funding and supervision
This study was funded by the National Cattle and Beef Association, a Beef Checkoff contractor. The organization was not involved in data collection or analysis, nor did it participate in the publication process other than to review drafts of the manuscript before submission, the researchers said.
