Summary
Amid ongoing debate about how red meat influences cardiometabolic health, researchers explored whether eating lean beef affects circulating microRNAs—small regulatory molecules increasingly recognized as biomarkers of metabolic function and disease risk. In this randomized, crossover study, 16 women with overweight consumed two controlled diet patterns for seven days each: one that included two servings of fresh, lean beef per day and another entirely plant-based pattern with the same calories and protein. At the end of each period, fasting blood samples were analyzed for 12 metabolic miRNAs and a panel of cardiometabolic markers. Among all miRNAs tested, only miR-15b-5p was significantly higher after the beef-containing diet. Notably, higher levels of this miRNA were associated with lower fasting insulin, lower CRP, reduced insulin resistance, and better insulin sensitivity—but these relationships appeared only after the beef pattern, not the plant pattern. These findings suggest that short-term consumption of fresh, lean beef within an otherwise healthy diet may modulate specific molecular biomarkers linked to improved metabolic regulation in women with overweight, highlighting a potentially beneficial role for lean beef in cardiometabolic health.
PMID: 38677478
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.04.026
Abstract
Background
Considerable controversy exists surrounding the consumption of red meat and its impacts on cardiometabolic health and if it may further impact risk factors at the molecular level.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of dietary patterns, varying in red meat quantity, on the expression of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), which are emerging biomarkers of metabolic dysfunction and chronic disease severity.
Methods
Secondary analyses were performed on plasma samples collected within a randomized, crossover design study in 16 women with overweight (mean ± standard deviation, age = 33 ± 9.89 y; body mass index = 27.9 ± 1.66 kg/m2). Participants were provided with eucaloric, isonitrogenous diets (15% of daily intake as protein) containing either 2 servings of fresh, lean beef/day (BEEF) or 0 servings of fresh, lean beef/day (PLANT) for 7 d/pattern. Fasting blood samples were collected at the end of each dietary pattern for the assessment of 12 circulating metabolic miRNA expression levels (determined a priori by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction), plasma glucose, insulin, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, C-reactive protein (CRP), adiponectin, glucagon-like peptide-1, and branched-chain amino acids.
Results
Of the 12 miRNAs, miR-15b-5p expression was higher following BEEF versus PLANT (P = 0.024). Increased miR-15b-5p expression correlated with decreased fasting CRP (r = -0.494; P = 0.086) and insulin concentrations (r = -0.670; P = 0.017). miR-15b-5p was inversely correlated with insulin resistance (r = -0.642; P = 0.024) and β cell function (r = -0.646; P = 0.023) and positively correlated with markers of insulin sensitivity (r = 0.520; P = 0.083). However, the correlations were only observed following BEEF, not PLANT.
Conclusions
These data indicate that the short-term intake of fresh, lean beef as part of a healthy dietary pattern impacts potential biomarkers of cardiometabolic health that are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in women with overweight. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02614729.
Keywords: cardiometabolic health; insulin resistance; insulin sensitivity; miRNA expression; red meat.
Piacquadio KA, Margolis LM, Gwin JA, Leidy HJ. Higher Expression of miR-15b-5p with Inclusion of Fresh, Lean Beef as Part of a Healthy Dietary Pattern Is Inversely Associated with Markers of Cardiometabolic Disease Risk. J Nutr. 2024 Jun;154(6):1758-1765. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.04.026. Epub 2024 Apr 25. PMID: 38677478.