A new study offers reassuring news for people concerned about red meat and its role in blood sugar and heart health.
Researchers have found that eating 6–7 ounces of beef per day does not increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) or negatively impact other markers of cardiometabolic health in adults with prediabetes.
The study, published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition, was a randomized controlled trial (RCT)—the gold standard of scientific research—conducted in people with prediabetes. This condition often comes before type 2 diabetes and affects millions of Americans.
More than 135 million adults in the U.S. are currently living with or at risk for type 2 diabetes. This makes it critical to provide clear, science-based dietary guidance that helps people lower their risk while maintaining a healthy, balanced diet.
The study was titled “Effects of Diets Containing Beef Compared with Poultry on Pancreatic β-Cell Function and Other Cardiometabolic Health Indicators in Males and Females with Prediabetes.” It was led by Kevin C. Maki, Ph.D., from Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington.
According to Dr. Maki, their findings support what previous research has suggested: that beef, when part of an overall healthy diet, does not harm heart health or blood sugar control.
“When beef is consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern, it helps fill essential nutritional gaps and does not adversely impact the cardiometabolic risk profile compared to poultry,” he said.
The study used a crossover design and included 24 participants—17 men and 7 women between the ages of 18 and 74. All of the participants were overweight or obese and had prediabetes, but were otherwise healthy. Each person followed two different 28-day diets, with a 28-day break in between.
In one period, they ate beef-based meals twice a day. In the other, they ate poultry-based meals twice a day. Each meal contained about 3.0–3.5 ounces of cooked meat and was part of the participants’ regular eating patterns. Meals included common dishes like fajitas, stew, burgers, burritos, or stir-fry.
To measure how the body handled sugar and insulin, the researchers checked pancreatic β-cell function (which helps produce insulin), insulin sensitivity, and certain hormones related to blood sugar regulation. These were measured both before and after each 28-day period.
The results? There were no meaningful differences between the beef and poultry diets. In other words, eating beef every day for a month had no harmful effects on blood sugar levels, insulin response, or signs of inflammation—at least in this group of adults with prediabetes.
Dr. Indika Edirisinghe, a co-author and professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, said the short duration of the study is still long enough to detect early changes in metabolism. He added that these findings suggest beef doesn’t negatively impact key metabolic risk factors when compared to poultry.
While more long-term studies are needed to confirm these results, this trial adds to the growing body of evidence that lean, unprocessed beef can be part of a healthy diet for people at risk for type 2 diabetes.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about bananas and diabetes, and honey could help control blood sugar.
For more health information, please see recent studies about Vitamin D that may reduce dangerous complications in diabetes and results showing plant-based protein foods may help reverse type 2 diabetes.
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