Beef and bison: leaner on paper, one small trial in its favor

In one small double-blind trial, bison came out ahead of beef on blood markers. A single 12 oz beef meal raised triglycerides by 67%, against 30% after the same amount of bison. After 7 weeks of 12 oz of beef a day, 6 days a week, C-reactive protein rose by 72%, and bison did not raise it significantly. That trial had 14 people in the single-meal part and 10 in the 7-week part, used a very large daily amount of meat, and measured blood markers only, so heart disease was never counted. The two meats in it also differed in fat. USDA samples show the same gap on the shelf. Raw ground bison averages 8.9 g fat per 3.5 oz (100 g), against 12.9 g for 90% lean and 19.4 g for 80% lean ground beef, although bison samples range from 3.9 to 16.1 g. Iron and zinc are close in all three.

How much is actually in it

• Raw ground bison averages 8.9 g fat per 3.5 oz (100 g) in USDA samples against 12.9 g for 90% lean and 19.4 g for 80% lean ground beef, with similar iron and zinc. — — (n = 6 bison samples, 8 + 8 beef samples) Evidence E source
  Fat bison 8.88 g (3.92-16.08); beef 90/10 12.85 g; beef 80/20 19.44 g. Iron 2.17 vs 2.13 and 1.97 mg; zinc 3.76 vs 4.19 and 3.85 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What a real portion looks like

• USDA survey data count one bison patty as 85 g, the same as an unspecified portion of ground beef, while a cup is 135 g for bison and 125 g for ground beef. — — Evidence E source
  Bison patty 85 g, cup 135 g; ground beef unspecified 85 g, cup 125 g

What your body absorbs

• In an 8-week RCT in 52 iron-deficient women, taking a 32 mg iron supplement with 4 oz (113 g) of beef raised ferritin no more than taking it with plant-based meat (both about +10.7 ug/L). — 52 non-pregnant women aged about 24 y with ferritin under 25 ug/L, daily lunch with 4 oz beef or Beyond Meat plus 32 mg iron, 8 weeks (n = 52) Evidence B source
  Ferritin +10.7 +/- 9.6 ug/L over time in both arms, treatment-by-time P > 0.05

What cooking and storage change

• A meta-analysis of 28 food studies found that cooked beef carries more of four carcinogenic PAH compounds than uncooked, with smoking giving more than grilling or barbecuing. — 28 articles measuring PAH4 in beef and beef products (n = 28 articles) Evidence D source
  Thermally processed vs control beef g = 1.64 (P < 0.001); smoking > grilling and barbecuing (g > 0.8)
• Broiling ground beef keeps about 80% of vitamin B12 and 60% of vitamin B6 but all of the zinc and 95% of the iron, by the USDA retention table. — — Evidence E source
  Retained: B6 60%, B12 80%, thiamin 80%, iron 95%, zinc 100%

What it does to your health

• In a double-blind crossover RCT in healthy men, a 12 oz beef meal raised triglycerides by 67% versus 30% after bison, and 7 weeks of daily beef raised CRP by 72% while bison did not. — healthy men; single 12 oz serving (n 14) and 7 weeks of 12 oz a day, 6 days a week (n 10) of each meat (n = 14 acute, 10 chronic) Evidence B source
  Acute triglycerides +67% +/- 45% beef vs +30% +/- 27% bison; after 7 weeks beef CRP +72% +/- 57%, IL-6 +59%, FMD/shear -19%, no change with bison

Safety, limits and interactions

• E. coli O157:H7 was found in 47.4% of 342 American bison sampled at slaughter. — 342 bison at slaughter, seven sampling dates (n = 342) Evidence D source
  Overall prevalence 47.4%; fecal 17-83% across days
• For ground beef, USDA FSIS says a patty is safe once it reaches 160 °F (71 °C) measured with a food thermometer, whatever its color. The FSIS page read here does not name bison. — consumers cooking ground beef, USA Evidence E source
  160 °F for ground beef; color not a safe indicator
• FSIS says the toxin made by STEC bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7 may cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, particularly in young children, and names children under 5, pregnant women, people 65 or older and people with weakened immune systems as most at risk from contaminated food. — children under 5 years old, pregnant women, people aged 65 or older, people with immune systems weakened by cancer, kidney disease and other illnesses Evidence E source
  STEC toxin causes hemorrhagic colitis and may cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, particularly in young children; named groups most at risk from contaminated food

Who this works differently for

• In a crossover feeding trial in 17 breastfeeding women, 6 days of 339 g beef a day gave breast milk more arachidonic acid (0.41% vs 0.35%) than a plant-based beef substitute. — 17 lactating women exclusively breastfeeding, two 6-day fully provided diet phases with 339 g beef or substitute daily (n = 17) Evidence B source
  Milk arachidonic acid 0.41 vs 0.35% (P < 0.001); lauric acid 4.47 vs 9.32% with substitute
• In a randomized crossover trial in 23 people with past calcium kidney stones, two servings of beef a day gave the same urinary stone risk as the same protein from plants. — 23 normocalciuric adults with a history of calcium kidney stones, 4-day adaptation plus 2-day metabolic unit per diet (n = 23) Evidence B source
  Urinary calcium, oxalate, citrate and Tiselius risk index did not differ between beef and plant protein diets

The bottom line

USDA survey data count a bison patty as 85 g, the same weight as an unspecified portion of ground beef. Broiling ground beef keeps about 80% of its vitamin B12, 60% of its B6, 95% of its iron and all of its zinc, by a USDA factor from 1975. That table has no bison row, so we do not carry these numbers over to bison. Beef did not make supplement iron work better. In an 8-week randomized trial in young women with low iron stores, ferritin rose by 10.7 ug/L on average with a daily iron supplement, whether the lunch it came with held beef or a plant-based meat. The trial tested what meat does to supplement iron, and it did not test the iron in the beef itself. How you cook beef changes what forms on it. A meta-analysis of 28 laboratory studies found that cooked beef carries more of four carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons than uncooked beef, and smoking produced more of them than grilling or barbecuing. Those are measurements in meat, and no human health outcome was tested. E. coli O157:H7 was found in 47.4% of bison sampled at slaughter, which is carriage in the animals and we have no card on how often meat in shops is contaminated. USDA FSIS says a ground beef patty is safe once it reaches 160 °F (71 °C) measured with a food thermometer throughout the patty, whatever its color, because ground beef may turn brown before bacteria are destroyed. The FSIS page read here does not name bison. FSIS says the toxin made by STEC bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7 may cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, particularly in young children, and names children under 5, pregnant women, people aged 65 or older and people whose immune systems are weakened by cancer, kidney disease and other illnesses as most at risk from contaminated food. Two groups have specific data. In breastfeeding women, 6 days of eating beef gave milk slightly more arachidonic acid than a plant-based beef substitute, 0.41% against 0.35%, and the infants' health was not measured. In adults with past calcium kidney stones, a beef diet gave the same urinary stone risk markers as the same protein from plants, over short diet periods and without counting new stones. Beyond those infection risk groups, we found no bison studies on pregnancy, children or kidney disease.

Sources

1. bvb-daily-r4-07 · food composition data
   Bison, ground, raw: Total lipid 8.88 G (3.92-16.08, 6 samples), Iron 2.168 MG, Zinc 3.763 MG; Beef, ground, 90% lean meat / 10% fat, raw: Total lipid 12.85 G, Iron 2.128 MG, Zinc 4.194 MG (8 samples); Beef, ground, 80% lean meat / 20% fat, raw: Total lipid 19.44 G, Iron 1.965 MG, Zinc 3.848 MG (8 samples)
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 · checked 2026-10-02
2. bvb-daily-r4-09 · portion data
   Bison, FNDDS code 23326100, fdc_id 2705920: 1 patty 85 g; 1 cup 135 g. Beef, ground, FNDDS code 21500100, fdc_id 2705854: 1 cup 125 g; Quantity not specified 85 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food codes 23326100 Bison (FDC 2705920) and 21500100 Beef, ground (FDC 2705854) · checked 2026-10-02
3. bvb-daily-r4-02 · randomized controlled trial
   Daily consumption of an iron supplement with a lunch meal for 8 wk improved serum ferritin concentrations (main time effect: +10.7 ± 9.6 μg/L, P < 0.0001), transferrin saturation (main time effect: +5.1% ± 18.7%, P = 0.048), soluble transferrin receptor (main time effect: -0.6 ± 1.0 mg/L, P < 0.001), body iron stores (main time effect: +2.8 ± 3.1 mg/kg, P < 0.0001), and hemoglobin (main time effect: +0.5 ± 0.9 g/dL, P = 0.0002) regardless of whether the meals contained Animal or Plant (treatment-by-time interaction: P > 0.05 for all indicators).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-10-02
4. bvb-daily-r4-05 · meta-analysis of laboratory measurements
   A meta-analysis of 28 articles indicated that thermally processed beef had significantly higher PAH4 levels than did the control beef (g' = 1.64; P < 0.001). Smoking caused greater PAH4 buildup than did grilling and barbecuing (g' > 0.8; P < 0.001).
   Meat Sci, 2026 · checked 2026-10-02
5. bvb-daily-r4-08 · nutrient retention data
   USDA-RETN-R6:603 BEEF,BROILED GROUND: vitamin_b6_mg 60%; vitamin_b12_ug 80%; thiamin_mg 80%; iron_mg 95%; zinc_mg 100%
   USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007), code 603 BEEF,BROILED GROUND · checked 2026-10-02
6. bvb-daily-r4-01 · randomized crossover trial
   A double-blind, cross-over randomized trial was employed to examine the consequence of a single 12 oz serving (n = 14) and 7 weeks of chronic consumption (n = 10) (12 oz/d, 6 d/wk) of each meat. ... Following a single beef meal, triglycerides and oxidized low-density lipoprotein were elevated (67% ± 45% and 18% ± 17% respectively); there was a tendency for hydroperoxides to be elevated (24% ± 37%); and FMD/shear rate was reduced significantly (30% ± 38%). Following a single meal of bison: there was a smaller increase in triglycerides (30% ± 27%), and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress and FMD/shear rate were unchanged. ... Protein carbonyl (24% ± 45%), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (78% ± 126%), interleukin-6 (59% ± 76%) and C-reactive protein (72% ± 57%) were significantly elevated and FMD/shear rate was significantly reduced (19% ± 28%) following 7 weeks of beef consumption, but not bison consumption.
   Nutr Res, 2013 · checked 2026-10-02
7. bvb-daily-r4-06 · prevalence study in animals
   An overall E. coli O157:H7 prevalence of 47.4% was observed.
   J Food Prot, 2007 · checked 2026-10-02
8. sf-fsis-7 · agency advice
   Ground beef may turn brown before it has reached a temperature at which bacteria are destroyed. ...A hamburger cooked to 160 °F (165 °F for ground poultry), measured with a food thermometer throughout the patty...is safe — regardless of color.
   USDA FSIS, Doneness Versus Safety · checked 2026-10-08
9. sf-stec-r3-beefbison-1 · agency advice
   STECs produce large quantities of a potent toxin that forms in the intestine and causes severe damage to the lining of the intestine. This causes a disease called hemorrhagic colitis, and may also cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, particularly in young children. ... Children under 5 years old, pregnant women, people aged 65 or older and those with immune systems that have been weakened by cancer, kidney disease and other illnesses are most at risk and vulnerable to illnesses associated with contaminated food.
   Ground Beef and Food Safety, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service · checked 2026-10-08
10. bvb-daily-r4-03 · randomized crossover trial
    Human milk collected during the substitute diet contained higher levels of tropical oil-derived medium-chain saturated fatty acids, such as lauric acid (12:0: 9.32 ± 1.8 compared with 4.47 ± 1.82, P < 0.001) and lower levels of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), including arachidonic acid (20:4n-6: 0.35 ± 0.06 compared with 0.41 ± 0.06, P < 0.001) compared with milk form the beef diet.
    Am J Clin Nutr, 2026 · checked 2026-10-02
11. bvb-daily-r4-04 · randomized crossover trial
    Urinary calcium, oxalate, magnesium, citrate, phosphorus, volume, and TRI did not differ between diets.
    J Am Diet Assoc, 2001 · checked 2026-10-02