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Women lose more weight on a diet high in red meat

One hundred overweight women were randomly assigned to one of two different diets. One was high in red meat (34% protein diet) and the other was low in red meat (17% protein diet.) The two diets had the same number of calories. At the end of the three-month study, the women on the red-meat diet had lost an extra one and a half pounds of fat. They also held on to more of their lean muscle mass, which helped them maintain their strength and metabolic rate. Women who had high triglycerides at the beginning of the study fared even better on the red meat diet, losing four and a half extra pounds.

There were additional benefits to the carnivorous diet. The women had a 14% greater reduction in triglycerides, and a 9% increase in vitamin B12. (The women on the low meat diet had a 13% loss in B12) The conclusion of the researchers? "A low calorie diet high in red meat seems to provide a weight loss advantage [for women] with no adverse effects on bone metabolism."

(APJournal of Clinical Nutrition, 12(S):10, 2003)

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