Investigating the Effects of Beef Consumption on Cognitive and Brain Health
Understanding the Cognitive and Brain Health Effects of Increasing Beef Consumption in Young Adults
1 other identifier
interventional
240
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if eating more beef will lead to better cognition and a healthier brain in younger adults. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does eating more beef lead to higher scores on cognitive tests and better quality of life?
- Does eating more beef lead to better brain function? Researchers will compare participants in the experimental group (participants who will eat 25 ounces of beef every week during the dietary intervention) to control participants (participants who will eat 5 ounces of beef every week during the dietary intervention). Participants will:
- Be instructed to prepare and consume ready-to-eat beef meals along with their regular diet and not eat any more beef other than what they are given
- Visit the study facilities once every week to pick up ready-to-eat beef meals; and complete a brief survey every week to track their consumption of the provided beef meals, and a dietary survey every 4 weeks
- Visit the study facilities before and after the 12-week of intervention period for researchers to study them
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Sep 2025
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
October 28, 2024
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
November 15, 2024
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
September 22, 2025
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
September 1, 2026
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
September 1, 2026
February 10, 2026
February 1, 2026
11 months
October 28, 2024
February 6, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (9)
WAIS-V
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, verison 5. Comprehensive assessment battery for measuring cognitive abilities
Baseline and after 12 weeks
NIH Toolbox (Dimensional Change Card Sort)
Test for executive function and cognitive flexibility
Baseline and after 12 weeks
NIH Toolbox (Flanker)
test for executive functions: attention and inhibitory control
Baseline and after 12 weeks
NIH Toolbox (List Sorting Working Memory Test)
Test for working memory
Baseline and after 12 weeks
Cognitive Reflection Test
Test to measure the ability to suppress an intuitive wrong answer in favor of a more reflective correct answer
Baseline and after 12 weeks
Short Form-36 Health Survey
self-report measure of health status and quality of life
Baseline and after 12 weeks
Decision Outcome Inventory
an assessment of outcomes of real-life decisions
Baseline and after 12 weeks
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
Self-report assessment of sleep quality over the past month. The survey includes measures related to Sleep Latency, Sleep Duration, Sleep Efficiency, Sleep Disturbances, Use of Sleep Medications, Daytime Fatigue, and Sleep Quality
Baseline and after 12 weeks
Symptom Checklist 90-Revised
self-report assessment of psychological symptoms related to the domains of somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism
Baseline and after 12 weeks
Secondary Outcomes (1)
Brain Imaging
Baseline and after 12 weeks
Other Outcomes (8)
Height
Baseline and after 12 weeks
Weight
Baseline and after 12 weeks
Body Mass Index
Baseline and after 12 weeks
- +5 more other outcomes
Study Arms (2)
Experimental Group
EXPERIMENTALThe experimental group will participate in the 12-week beef dietary intervention study. Participants will be provided with 5 portions of ready-to-eat beef in frozen packages per week, and consume 5 portions per week. Each portion of beef provided to this group will weigh 5 ounces.
Control Group
PLACEBO COMPARATORThe control group will participate in the 12-week beef dietary intervention. Participants will be provided with 5 portions of ready-to-eat beef in frozen packages per week, and consume 5 portions per week. Each portion of beef provided to this group will weigh 1 ounce.
Interventions
The dietary intervention lasts 12 weeks for each individual. Participants in the experimental group will receive this intervention. Each participant will acquire 5 portions of ready-to eat beef in frozen packages per week, and consume 5 portions per week (1 portion of sirloin cap steak strips, 1 portion of shredded chuck roast, 1 portion of petite shoulder medallions, and 2 portions of ground beef crumbles); each portion of ready-to-eat beef in this intervention will weigh 5 ounces.
The dietary intervention lasts 12 weeks for each individual. Participants in the control group will receive this intervention. Each participant will acquire 5 portions of ready-to eat beef in frozen packages per week, and consume 5 portions per week (1 portion of sirloin cap steak strips, 1 portion of shredded chuck roast, 1 portion of petite shoulder medallions, and 2 portions of ground beef crumbles); each portion of ready-to-eat beef in this intervention will weigh 1 ounce.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Provision of signed and dated informed consent form
- Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and lifestyle considerations and availability for the duration of the study
- Males and females; Age 19-24
- Willingness to adhere to the ready-to-eat beef intervention regimen
- Enrolled at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- BMI between 18.5 and 39.9
- Not pregnant or nursing
- No history of cognitive or metabolic diseases indicated by diagnosis, including neurodegenerative disease, stroke, Type 1 and 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, kidney disease, and cancer
- No history of eating or anxiety disorders
- Willing to discontinue dietary supplement use throughout the duration of the study, if they are consuming supplement at the time of the registration
- No known contraindication to MRI scans as determined by the MRI screening survey questions
You may not qualify if:
- Current use of medications that may affect their responses to dietary intervention, such as amphetamines, antidepressants, anti-diabetic medications, laxatives, antibiotics, statins and diuretics.
- Known intolerance or allergy to beef
- Current use of nicotine products, including vaping
- Previous use of nicotine products, including vaping, within the recent 6 months at the time of pre-screening
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588, United States
Related Publications (2)
Zhang H, Hardie L, Bawajeeh AO, Cade J. Meat Consumption, Cognitive Function and Disorders: A Systematic Review with Narrative Synthesis and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2020 May 24;12(5):1528. doi: 10.3390/nu12051528.
PMID: 32456281BACKGROUNDHepsomali P, Groeger JA. Diet and general cognitive ability in the UK Biobank dataset. Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 3;11(1):11786. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-91259-3.
PMID: 34083695BACKGROUND
MeSH Terms
Interventions
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Aron Barbey, PhD
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- TRIPLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- BASIC SCIENCE
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
October 28, 2024
First Posted
November 15, 2024
Study Start
September 22, 2025
Primary Completion (Estimated)
September 1, 2026
Study Completion (Estimated)
September 1, 2026
Last Updated
February 10, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-02
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL, ANALYTIC CODE
- Time Frame
- IPD and supporting information will be available beginning 1 year after the publication of results with no end date.
- Access Criteria
- Researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal will be able to access the IPD and supporting information. Researchers are not restricted on the type of analyses, as long as they are methodologically sound. The statistical methods for those analyses must be approved before the researchers can gain access to the data. For data sharing, a proposal that describes planned analyses must be submitted to the study's contact personnel for review. A data sharing agreement must be signed between the institution of the requesting researchers and the institution of the study's principal investigator.
Study findings will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals such as those that follow the ICMJE's recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. The data collected in this project may be shared through public-use files, repositories or other means outside of the approved research team as a requirement of publication. All data will be identified with subject IDs only when shared. Research records such as informed consent forms, MRI Safety Screening forms, research compliance records, masterlist linking names to subject IDs will not be shared.