Red and Processed Meat Effects on the Metabolome and Microbiome

Red and Processed Meat Effects on the Metabolome and Microbiome

This controlled feeding trial will identify biomarkers in the metabolome and microbiome that may differ when consuming a healthy diet with or without red and processed meat.

This is a randomized cross-over feeding trial to test whether red and processed meat consumption, in the context of a controlled diet based on HEI-2015, will cause shifts in the metabolome and the microbiome compared to a controlled HEI-2015 diet with no red or processed meat. Twenty healthy adult volunteers will consume two diets in random order: 1) Diet A is based on the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) and includes no red or processed meat; 2) Diet B is based on the Healthy Eating Index-2015 and includes red and processed meat (HEI-2015-M) as some of the protein sources. Both diet periods last 21 days and an approximately 21-day washout period occurs between diets.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy adult,
• 18-50 years of age,
• able to read, speak, and understand English, and
• willing to come to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center campus twice weekly during study

Exclusion Criteria:

• known allergy to red or processed meat,
• vegetarian or vegan,
• any religious or personal reason(s) to avoid red and processed meat,
• pregnant an/or exclusively breastfeeding, and/or
• alcohol or recreational drug abuse