Advice to eat less red meat remains fiercely disputed. Red meat has drawn headlines over links to bowel cancer, while recent studies have connected processed red meat with dementia, even as lean, minimally processed cuts provide protein, iron, zinc and vitamin B12.

A viral Instagram post pushed that debate into a sharper frame. Fitness educator Menno Henselmans argued that lean red meat, within an otherwise balanced diet, may be no worse than plant protein or poultry.

The argument drew on two trials published in 2025. Their results offer some reassurance about lean, unprocessed red meat, but the details are more nuanced than the social media claim suggests.

The first study was an 18 week feeding trial involving 36 adults aged 65 and older. Participants followed two versions of the same healthy diet, which emphasized plant foods.

One version included about 162g of lean, minimally processed pork each day. The other replaced that pork with a portion of lentils matched for calories and macronutrients.

Researchers provided every meal, and each phase lasted eight weeks, with a break between the phases. Because every participant tried both diets, researchers could compare their effects more directly.

Health markers improved or were maintained during both diets. Measures included insulin sensitivity, body weight and physical function, with no meaningful overall difference detected between the pork and lentil phases.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Menno Henselmans (@menno.henselmans)

The finding suggests that replacing lentils with lean, minimally processed pork did not make the healthy dietary pattern less beneficial during the eight week period. It does not establish that pork and lentils produce identical effects over a lifetime.

The second study included 24 adults with prediabetes. Participants ate daily entrées containing either 185g of beef or poultry for four weeks, took a four week break, and then switched to the other protein.

Researchers supplied the meals containing meat, while participants otherwise continued their normal diets. This trial also used a crossover design, meaning that every participant ate both types of protein.

After four weeks of daily beef meals, participants’ blood sugar control, insulin function, cholesterol and inflammation markers looked no worse than they did after the poultry meals. The results covered short term markers rather than major health outcomes.

Both studies received funding from organizations representing the beef or pork industries. The funders were not involved in analyzing or reporting the trials, although several authors of the beef study disclosed existing financial relationships with food industry bodies.

The trials did not examine bowel cancer, dementia, heart disease, life expectancy or other long term outcomes. They involved relatively few participants and tracked a limited collection of markers for only four or eight weeks.

The type of meat also matters. Researchers studied lean, minimally processed pork and beef consumed within otherwise healthy dietary patterns, not bacon, sausages, salami or burgers.

Registered nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert, author of The Fibre Formula, said the results were encouraging without overturning existing guidance. ‘These findings are reassuring in that they suggest lean, minimally processed red meat can absolutely have a place within a healthy, balanced diet,’ she said.

Lambert immediately added another qualification: ‘However, I don’t think they change current dietary advice.’ The evidence does not provide a free pass for unlimited red meat or extend to every type of meat, dietary pattern or person.

‘Lean red meat is an excellent source of high-quality protein, vitamin B12 and haem iron, which is more readily absorbed than the iron found in plant foods,’ Lambert said. That can be particularly relevant for women of reproductive age, who face greater iron deficiency risks because of menstrual blood loss and pregnancy’s increased iron demands.

Eating red meat still does not guarantee adequate iron status. Lambert said heavy menstrual bleeding, pregnancy, underlying medical conditions and the diet’s overall quality can all contribute to deficiencies.

Pulses, beans and lentils remain useful sources of iron and fibre. Pairing them with foods rich in vitamin C, including peppers, citrus fruit or berries, can help the body absorb more plant based iron.

The practical message is less dramatic than the viral claim. Processed red meats such as bacon, sausages and salami should remain occasional foods, while people who enjoy lean steak, pork loin or beef mince need not panic about including them in their weekly diets.

The broader dietary pattern remains more important than a single lentil lunch or steak dinner. As Lambert put it, ‘It's about building an overall dietary pattern that supports both iron intake and long-term health.’