Is beef inflammatory?

Have you ever wondered whether red meat and beef is an inflammatory food?

For the longest time, we have believed from reading papers like this one that eating red meat, as in, not just processed pork, but also lean beef can cause inflammation. And if you’re frying your meat or grilling or baking it, it might be true, beef can be inflammatory in that case. But it’s not the whole story!

Omega-6-Fatty Acids

A few years ago we decided to make our own table in Google Sheets highlighting the omega-6/omega-3 ratio in different foods. Probably because we know how to have fun.

The omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio is something you need to pay attention to if you have problems with too much inflammation in the body – pretty much any chronic disease from insulin resistance, through neurological to autoimmune. You want this ratio to be as close to 1:1 as possible.

But unfortunately with the diet we have today, that won’t happen naturally – nobody eats a ton of greens, flaxseeds and freshly caught salmon daily.

Today for many of us, our bodies are built out of grains, dairy, potatoes, tomatoes, peanut butter and chicken. All of these foods have a higher omega-6/omega-3 ratio. Like way higher as in 20/1. Even if they’re not ultra-processed (which is higher level bad for you).

So when we were making our fun table of foods to eat a few years ago, we were surprised to discover, that actually, beef was lower in omega-6’s than chicken (what we’re always told to eat preferably). And of course, better than pork too. Which, if you eat one or two servings of ground beef with a side of broccoli or leafy greens and add chia or flaxseed to your diet, you can keep the omega-6’s in check.

Nutrients

Beef also has a lot more nutrients like iron, B12, Selenium and zinc than chicken. And having enough nutrients of everything is essential for resolving inflammation i.e. healing.

The occurrence of inflammation itself isn’t a disease. It doesn’t cause a health problem. It’s actually an attempt by your body to heal itself from an injury. Whether that’s caused by lack of sleep, too much stress, pathogens, medications, environmental toxins, physical injury or even overeating.

All of these can cause damage which your body responds to with an increase in inflammatory biomarkers. It’s because it’s attempting to clean up the injury and then rebuild the cells and tissues.

Now, inflammation has to have an end for complete healing (rebuilding) to take place. However, when you consistently add damage and/or are lacking a nutrient, this cannot happen. It’s a horrible cycle and you want to interrupt it. By adding the nutrition and removing the constant damage.

That’s why it’s important to eat nutrient-dense foods and one of them can be beef. Your body needs nutrients for processes most of us aren’t even aware are going on while we rest or work. And that includes resolving inflammation as well.

Cooking

Overall, red meat like beef is a nutrient-dense food, that is not high in omega-6 fatty acids and that research shows isn’t inflammatory. Especially when less processed and in moderation.

It is however important how you prepare it, as you want to avoid adding advanced glycation end products (AGE’s) to your plate.

These compounds form when you cook meat at high temperatures with dry heat. They then bind to their receptors in your body (called RAGE) that trigger a inflammatory response. This means they’re adding that damage that we talked about. So, it’s something to be aware of.

When you consume meat, whether it’s beef or fish or even turkey, it’s best to prepare it with spices and moisture at lower temperatures. Simmering and poaching are good options here, be sure to avoid frying, grilling, and or baking.