Effect of Including Lean Red Meat in a Plant-Based Dietary Pattern on Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Disease Risk

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the acute effects of dietary patterns, varying in red meat quantity, on clinical biomarkers of cardiometabolic disease risk in women with overweight. We hypothesized that there would be no differences in markers of acute inflammation, glycemic control or expression of miRNAs associated with metabolic disease risks detected after consumption of a diet containing 2 servings of lean red meat/day compared to a diet void of lean red meat. Secondary analyses were performed using plasma samples collected within a randomized, crossover design study in 17 women (mean ± SEM, age: 33±1y; BMI: 27.8±0.1kg/m2) who consumed a plant-based diet containing either 0 or 2 servings of red meat/d for 1 wk/pattern. A 3-wk washout period occurred between patterns. Participants were provided with eucaloric, isonitrogenous plant-based diets containing 3 daily meals (28% of daily calories/meal) and an evening snack (16% of daily calories) that differed only in protein source. The protein sources in the plant-based diet without red meat (MEATLESS) were 100% plant-based, whereas the plant-based diet with red meat (RED MEAT) replaced a portion of plant protein with 2 servings/d of lean beef. Fasting blood samples were collected at the end of each dietary pattern for the assessment of plasma glucose, insulin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), adiponectin, and branch chain amino acids (BCAA) via colorimetric (glucose), enzyme-linked immunoassays, and high-performance liquid chromatography (BCAA). Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA) was used to evaluate insulin resistance (IR) and sensitivity (%S) and beta cell function (%B). Paired sample t-tests were utilized to compare the main effect of protein source (RED MEAT vs. MEATLESS) on fasting plasma biomarkers of cardiometabolic disease risk. p<0.05 was considered significant. Additional ongoing analyses include querying expression of a microRNA (miRNA) panel associated with metabolic disease risks via qPCR. No differences in plasma fasting glucose (76.67±2.08 vs. 76.48±1.98mg/dL); insulin (45.89±5.47 vs. 46.31±5.49pmol/L); IL-6 (1.18±0.27 vs. 1.13±0.30pg/mL); TNF-α (4.11±0.30 vs. 4.13±0.24pg/mL); CRP (0.37±0.07 vs. 0.41±0.09mg/dL); adiponectin (10.53±1.52 vs. 10.35±1.36ug/mL); or BCAA (118.49±9.09 vs. 121.94±9.39mg/mL) concentrations or differences in HOMA -IR (1.46±0.18 vs. 1.47±0.19), -%S (115.83±11.92 vs. 117.67±14.38), or -%B (135.64±11.30 vs. 137.56±10.41) were detected when comparing RED MEAT vs. MEATLESS dietary patterns. The consumption of as much as 2 servings of lean red meat/d does not negatively influence inflammatory or metabolic signals related to cardiometabolic disease risk. These findings suggest that lean red meat can serve as a nutrient-dense protein source within a healthy dietary pattern. The Beef Checkoff; not offcial Army/DoD policy. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.