his study investigates whether eating lean beef every day can help support brain health and healthy aging in older adults. As people age, protecting memory and cognitive function becomes increasingly important. Lean beef is a rich source of essential nutrients-such as vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and creatine-that are known to support brain function. However, the direct biological effects of a beef-rich diet on brain health markers are not fully understood.
In this study, researchers will recruit 20 generally healthy older adults (aged 65 and older) to participate in a dietary feeding trial. Participants will complete two separate 2-week dietary phases. During one phase, participants will consume 5.5 ounces (156 grams) of provided lean beef daily. During the other phase, they will consume an iso-caloric, protein-matched, non-beef control food daily. A two-week "washout" period, where participants return to their normal diets, will separate the two phases to ensure there are no overlapping effects.
Researchers will collect blood, urine, stool, and saliva samples at the beginning and end of each 2-week dietary phase. These samples will be analyzed to see if the lean beef diet improves specific biological markers in the blood related to memory, nerve protection, and overall brain aging. Ultimately, the findings from this study will help determine if incorporating lean beef into a regular diet can be a natural, food-based strategy to help preserve neurological health in older adults.
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Crossover
Lean Beef
Other interventionParticipants will be provided with and instructed to consume 156 grams (5.5 ounces) of cooked lean beef daily for 14 days.
Non-Beef Control
Other interventionParticipants will be provided with and instructed to consume an iso-caloric, macronutrient- and protein-matched non-beef control consisting of a mixture of cottage cheese and whey protein daily for 14 days.
Change in Plasma Phosphorylated Tau-217 (p-tau217) Concentration
Quantitative change in fasting plasma concentrations of p-tau217, a blood-based biomarker indicative of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. This will be measured using commercially available Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays
Change in Plasma Amyloid-Beta 42/40 (Aβ42/40) Ratio
Quantitative change in the ratio of fasting plasma Aβ42 to Aβ40, a recognized biomarker for early amyloid pathology. This will be measured using commercially available ELISA kits.
Shift in Plasma Lipidome Profile
Global shifts in fasting plasma lipid species assessed via comprehensive untargeted lipidomics. Analysis will be conducted using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) workflows to evaluate relative abundance changes in lipid metabolites between the beef and control diets.
Change in Gut Microbiome Composition
Alterations in gut microbial diversity and taxonomic relative abundance. This will be assessed via high-throughput sequencing (e.g., 16S rRNA or metagenomics) of DNA extracted from stool samples collected before and after each dietary phase.
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