Think Chicken Is Healthier Than Beef? This Study Says “Not So Fast”

Beginner | February 21, 2026

✨ Read the article aloud on your own or repeat each paragraph after your tutor.

Beef vs chicken study: What Researchers Tested

For years, many people have treated chicken like the “safe choice” and beef like the “risky choice,” especially for blood sugar and diabetes risk. But a new beef vs chicken study looked at a very specific question: For adults with prediabetes, does eating lean, unprocessed beef affect blood sugar differently than eating chicken? (Fox News)

The Setup: 24 Adults, Two Diet Periods

Researchers from Indiana University School of Public Health–Bloomington and Illinois Institute of Technology followed 24 adults with prediabetes (about 70% men). Each person ate either unprocessed beef or chicken every day for four weeks, then they switched to the other meat for another four weeks. (Fox News)

Real Meals, Not Just Lab Food

This wasn’t a “mystery shake” experiment. Participants worked the meals into normal life—things like burgers, fajitas, burritos, stews, and stir-fries. The idea was to test a realistic eating pattern, not an extreme diet that nobody can keep up. (Fox News)

The Results: No Meaningful Difference

After each four-week period, researchers checked blood sugar, insulin response, insulin sensitivity, cholesterol, and inflammation markers. The headline finding: these measures did not change in a meaningful way between the beef and chicken phases. They also looked at pancreatic beta-cell function (a key marker for diabetes progression) and did not see beef making it worse. (Fox News) (Current Developments in Nutrition)

The Fine Print: What This Doesn’t Prove

This beef vs chicken study was short-term and focused on lean, unprocessed meat—not fast food and not processed meats like bacon or deli slices. The study was funded by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, but the authors said the sponsor had no role in the data, analysis, or publication decisions. The trial was also registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, which helps reduce “cherry-picking” results. (Fox News)

A Practical “Business” Takeaway

In business, you don’t change strategy based on one data point—you look at the whole picture. Same here. This study suggests that lean, unprocessed beef may be no worse than chicken for short-term blood sugar markers in people with prediabetes. But smart decisions still mean thinking about portion size, overall diet quality, and long-term evidence. (Indiana University School of Public Health)

Vocabulary

prediabetes (noun) – a condition where blood sugar is higher than normal, but not yet diabetes.
Example: “The participants all had prediabetes.”
unprocessed (adjective) – not changed a lot by a factory; close to the natural food.
Example: “The study focused on unprocessed beef, not bacon.”
marker (noun) – a sign or measurement doctors use to understand health.
Example: “They checked markers like blood sugar and inflammation.”
insulin (noun) – a hormone that helps move sugar from blood into the body’s cells.
Example: “Insulin helps control blood sugar after a meal.”
inflammation (noun) – swelling inside the body that can be linked to illness.
Example: “The researchers measured inflammation markers.”
sensitivity (noun) – how strongly your body responds to something.
Example: “Insulin sensitivity can improve with healthy habits.”
phase (noun) – one stage of a plan or experiment.
Example: “The beef phase lasted four weeks.”
switch (verb) – to change from one thing to another.
Example: “After four weeks, the participants switched meats.”
sponsor (noun) – an organization that provides money for a project.
Example: “The sponsor did not control the results.”
takeaway (noun) – the main lesson or key point.
Example: “The takeaway is to focus on the whole diet.”

Discussion Questions (About the Article)

What question did the beef vs chicken study try to answer?
How long did each diet period last, and what happened after that?
What health markers did the researchers measure?
Why does the article emphasize “unprocessed” meat?
What limits of the study should readers remember?

Discussion Questions (About the Topic)

When you hear “healthy protein,” what foods do you think of first?
Do you think food headlines are sometimes oversimplified? Why?
What matters more for health: one food item or your overall diet pattern?
How can someone with prediabetes make meals simpler and healthier?
If you wanted to improve your diet this month, what is one small change you could start today?

Related Idiom / Phrase

“The devil is in the details” – small details can change the meaning or the decision.

Example: “The devil is in the details: this study is about lean, unprocessed beef—not fast food or processed meat.”

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Sources

This article was inspired by: Fox News, Current Developments in Nutrition, and Indiana University School of Public Health