Bison: less fat than beef, tested in 14 men

In a double-blind crossover trial in 14 healthy men, one 340 g (12 oz) bison meal raised blood triglycerides by 30 percent four hours later, against 67 percent after the same amount of beef. Those are short-term blood markers, and the bison was range fed and then finished in a feedlot. The same team then gave 10 of the men 340 g a day, six days a week, for seven weeks of each meat. Neither meat changed body weight, body fat or blood lipids. The abstract reports C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, up 72 percent after beef and no significant change after bison. The full paper is more careful: neither meat moved that marker from baseline, and only the size of the rise differed, larger on beef. Ten men, surrogate markers, no women, and no newer trial. What the lab measured in the trial meat is simpler to state. The bison steak carried 9.5 g of fat per 340 g, the matched beef steak 21.8 g.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Lab analysis of the trial meat found 9.5 g of fat in 12 oz of bison steak against 21.8 g in the matched beef steak. — Sirloin steaks and chuck roasts from 19-month-old bison and USDA Choice cattle Evidence D source
  Fat per 340 g: bison steak 9.5 g, roast 8.8 g; beef steak 21.8 g, roast 19.0 g
• Striploins from pasture-finished bison had 2.7% fat against 4.6% in bison finished in pens on corn and hay for 146 days. — Bison bulls from one Nebraska ranch, 20 per group, striploin (M. longissimus lumborum) (n = 40) Evidence D source
  Fat 2.7% versus 4.6%, protein 23.5% versus 22.9% (pasture versus pen)
• Six USDA samples of raw ground bison averaged 19.9 g protein, 3.8 mg zinc and 2.2 mg iron per 3.5 oz (100 g). — Food composition, US (n = 6) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: protein 19.88 g (17.36-21.97), zinc 3.76 mg (3.22-4.16), iron 2.17 mg (1.97-2.6), sodium 55.7 mg (41.6-71.4), cholesterol 64.5 mg (59.4-68.0)
• Fat in bison depends on the cut: USDA lists 1.8 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) for raw separable lean against 15.9 g for raw ground bison. — Food composition, US Evidence E source
  Per 100 g raw: lean 109 calories, fat 1.84 g; ground 223 calories, fat 15.93 g, saturated fat 6.8 g; grass-fed ground 146 calories, fat 7.21 g

What a real portion looks like

• US dietary surveys code a bison patty at 85 g and a cup of bison at 135 g. — Food portion data, US Evidence E source
  1 patty 85 g; 1 cup 135 g; quantity not specified 85 g

What your body absorbs

• In cats fed raw meat diets, nitrogen from a bison-based diet was about 97% digestible, the same as beef, elk and horse diets. — 8 adult female cats, crossover feeding of four raw meat diets (n = 8) Evidence D source
  Apparent N digestibility 96.8% (SEM 0.7) across all four diets

What cooking and storage change

• Pan-broiling ground bison concentrates it: protein rises from 18.7 to 23.8 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) and zinc from 4.3 to 5.1 mg as water drops, and 112.7 g raw yields an 87 g patty. — Food composition, US Evidence E source
  Raw to pan-broiled per 3.5 oz (100 g): water 64.25 to 59.53 g, protein 18.67 to 23.77 g, fat 15.93 to 15.13 g, zinc 4.29 to 5.14 mg, B12 1.79 to 2.28 microg

What it does to your health

• In a double-blind crossover RCT, one 12 oz bison meal raised triglycerides by 30% in healthy men, less than half the 67% rise after the same amount of beef. — 14 healthy men, single 12 oz (340 g) meal of each meat, blood drawn 4 hours later (n = 14) Evidence B source
  Triglycerides +30% (SD 27) after bison versus +67% (SD 45) after beef; inflammation, oxidative stress and FMD/shear rate unchanged after bison
• Eating 12 oz of bison 6 days a week for 7 weeks did not change body weight, body fat or blood lipids in 10 healthy men, while the same beef intake raised CRP by 72%. — 10 healthy men, 340 g a day, 6 days a week, 7 weeks per meat with a 30-day washout (n = 10) Evidence B source
  No change in weight, body fat or blood lipids with either meat; after beef CRP +72% (SD 57), IL-6 +59% (SD 76), FMD/shear rate -19% (SD 28); no significant change after bison
• After 7 weeks, the relative rises in PAI-1, IL-6 and CRP were significantly larger on beef than on bison in the same 10 men, though neither meat changed these markers from baseline. — 10 healthy men, 12 oz (340 g) of beef or bison a day, 6 days a week, 7 weeks (n = 10) Evidence B source
  Between-meat difference in relative change: PAI-1 P=0.02, IL-6 P=0.04, CRP P=0.003; no within-meat change

Safety, limits and interactions

• E. coli O157:H7 was found in 47% of 342 bison sampled at slaughter, so bison is a possible reservoir for human infection. — 342 bison at slaughter, rectal contents and rectoanal mucosal swabs, seven sampling days (n = 342) Evidence C source
  Overall prevalence 47.4%; fecal prevalence 17-83% by day; all 212 isolates carried stx2

The bottom line

Lean depends on the cut. USDA lists raw separable lean bison at 1.8 g of fat per 3.5 oz (100 g) and raw ground bison at 15.9 g, with 7.2 g for grass-fed ground. Ground bison is therefore not automatically a lean choice. How the animal was finished matters too. Striploins from pasture-finished bulls on one Nebraska ranch had 2.7 percent fat, against 4.6 percent after 146 days in pens on corn and hay (40 animals, one season). Six USDA samples of raw ground bison averaged 19.9 g of protein, 3.8 mg of zinc and 2.2 mg of iron per 3.5 oz (100 g). US diet surveys count a patty as 85 g. Pan-broiling shrinks 4 oz (112.7 g) of raw mince to an 87 g patty, so protein per 3.5 oz (100 g) reads 23.8 g cooked against 18.7 g raw. Those are two separate USDA samples, not a measured retention figure. The only digestibility data we have come from eight cats, which tells you nothing certain about people. The one safety finding is about the animal. E. coli O157:H7 was found in 47 percent of 342 bison at a single slaughter plant, in gut contents rather than in retail meat, and every one of the 212 isolates carried the stx2 toxin gene. Treat ground bison like ground beef and cook it through. We have no evidence on bison for pregnancy, children, allergy or medicines, and every human trial here enrolled healthy men only.

Sources

1. bsn-r7-04 · meat composition analysis
   Based upon the meat composition data, the total fat load ingested in the 12 ounces of beef steaks and roasts were on average 21.8 and 19.0 g of fat respectively, while there were only 9.5 and 8.8 g of fat in the bison steaks and roasts, respectively.
   Nutr Res, 2013 · checked 2026-09-30
2. bsn-r7-05 · meat composition analysis
   In the current study, pasture-finished bison were also leaner (1.9 g less fat per 100 g) compared to the pen-finished bison.
   J Anim Sci Biotechnol, 2023 · checked 2026-09-30
3. bsn-r7-08 · food composition data
   Bison, ground, raw (2727571): protein 19.881 g (17.356-21.969); zinc 3.763 mg (3.22-4.16, n=6); iron 2.168 mg (1.97-2.6, n=6); sodium 55.7 mg (41.6-71.4, n=6); cholesterol 64.52 mg (59.4-68.0, n=6)
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods (release 2026-04-30), FDC 2727571 Bison, ground, raw · checked 2026-09-30
4. bsn-r7-09 · food composition data
   Game meat, bison, separable lean only, raw (173851): 109 kcal; fat 1.84 g. Game meat, bison, ground, raw (174421): 223 kcal; fat 15.93 g; saturated fat 6.802 g. Bison, ground, grass-fed, raw (175293): 146 kcal; fat 7.21 g
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (2019), FDC 173851, 174421 and 175293 · checked 2026-09-30
5. bsn-r7-11 · portion data
   Bison (FNDDS 23326100): 1 patty 85 g; 1 cup 135 g; Quantity not specified 85 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 (FoodData Central), food code 23326100 Bison, fdc_id 2705920 · checked 2026-09-30
6. bsn-r7-06 · animal study (cats)
   Dietary N was highly digestible (96.8 (SEM 0.7)) for all treatments.
   Br J Nutr, 2011 · checked 2026-09-30
7. bsn-r7-10 · food composition data
   Game meat, bison, ground, raw (174421): water 64.25 g; protein 18.67 g; fat 15.93 g; zinc 4.29 mg; vitamin B12 1.79 µg. Game meat, bison, ground, cooked, pan-broiled (174422): water 59.53 g; protein 23.77 g; fat 15.13 g; zinc 5.14 mg; vitamin B12 2.28 µg; 1 patty 87 g (yield from 112.7 g raw meat)
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (2019), FDC 174421 and FDC 174422 Game meat, bison, ground, cooked, pan-broiled · checked 2026-09-30
8. bsn-r7-01 · randomized crossover trial
   Following a single beef meal, triglycerides and oxidized low-density lipoprotein were elevated (67% ± 45% and 18% ± 17% respectively) ... 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.
   Nutr Res, 2013 · checked 2026-09-30
9. bsn-r7-02 · randomized crossover trial
   Chronic consumption of either meat did not influence body weight, % body fat, or blood lipids. 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 2026-09-30
10. bsn-r7-03 · randomized crossover trial
    There was also no significant change in PAI-1, IL-10, IL-6, TNF alpha or CRP following 7 weeks of beef or bison consumption. However, the relative changes in PAI-1 (P=0.02), IL-6 (P=0.04) and CRP (P=.003) following 7 weeks of beef consumption were greater than following 7 weeks of bison consumption (Figure 2).
    Nutr Res, 2013 · checked 2026-09-30
11. bsn-r7-07 · prevalence study
    An overall E. coli O157:H7 prevalence of 47.4% was observed ... Our study suggests that the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in rectal contents or on rectal mucosa of bison is variable, but relatively high overall and bison could serve as an important reservoir for human infection.
    J Food Prot, 2007 · checked 2026-09-30