Beef

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria and blood chemicals³

  Eating lean beef as part of a Mediterranean diet changed gut bacteria and lowered a certain blood chemical in healthy adults.

• Benefit

  Thigh muscle and iron levels⁸

  In master-age male triathletes, a daily hydrolyzed beef protein drink preserved thigh muscle thickness and raised ferritin.

• Open question

  Low-fat patty taste test¹⁰

  Replacing fat in beef patties with a seed flour mix lowered fat and calories and tasters liked it.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Enzyme effects on digestion¹⁵

  Tenderizing beef with enzymes like bromelain helped its proteins break down more during digestion in lab studies.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Taste and tenderness¹⁴

  Beef with more marbling tasted more tender, juicy and sweet, and had more healthy fats.

Allergies and intolerances

These are about people with an allergy, an intolerance or coeliac disease. The signal is about the ingredient itself, and these are about the person eating it, so the signal does not count them.

• Red meat allergy⁵

  In alpha-gal syndrome, beef and other red meat can cause allergic reactions hours after eating, often triggered by tick bites.

• Food allergy prevalence¹¹

  In schoolchildren tested, beef allergy confirmed by food challenge was rare, though many parents reported it.

How it’s made and used

• Retail meat handling risks²

  Studies of beef sold in shops found poor conditions at several stages that could put shoppers at risk.

• Hidden meat qualities⁴

  Shoppers will likely care more about beef qualities they can't see for themselves.

• Protein digestion and gut hormones⁶

  In healthy men, eating beef steak raised blood amino acids and gut hormones, and pan-frying or sous-vide cooking made no difference.

• Marbling and flavor release⁷

  In people eating grilled beef, more marbling meant more flavor release and a stronger flavor.

• Generational taste differences⁹

  People liked beef whether they ate it often or rarely, though millennials rated it slightly lower than older people.

• Taste changes with age¹²

  Older and younger people rated beef patties differently, and firmness changed how much both groups liked them.

• Mixed feelings about meat¹³

  College students in four countries mostly liked beef, though women had more mixed feelings about eating it.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

Expert panels that weigh all the research. Shown for context: the signal at the top does not count them. IARC rates whether something can cause cancer at all, not how likely it is at the amounts in food.

• WHO cancer agency (IARC), 2015

  For red meat: probably causes cancer in people (Group 2A).