NCBA Talks Beef Nutrition in Consumers

Misinformation surrounding beef nutrition has clouded consumer choices for years. Executive Director of Nutrition Research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Dr. Shalene McNeill joins us to talk about Beef Checkoff research that was conducted through Baylor College of Medicine.

Consumers worry that a high-meat diet will increase inflammation, however, McNeill says the study proves there’s no association between consumption of red meat and increased inflammation.

Another topic of research McNeill highlights is the potential benefits of beef for individuals who are aging.

“If older people, 65 to 85, eat a meal with meat or a vegan meal, what happens to their muscle protein. Even if they have the same amount of protein. Two diets with a lot of protein in them- one vegan protein, and one meat protein. What we see is that muscle reacts differently to meat protein.”

She says it was found that there is a 47 percent increase in muscle synthesis for individuals who consumed beef. This is critical, McNeill said, because muscle synthesis is important for building muscle.

“At any given time, the checkoff has about 20 human nutrition trials going on where we are studying all of the various aspects about beef.”