Beef vs Lamb: Which Is Less Inflammatory?
Beef
Lamb
Neither beef nor lamb is less inflammatory than the other: both score 7, near the top of the inflammation scale. They swap for each other in a stew, a roast or a pack of mince, so the choice between them changes less than most people expect.
Both land high because of their fat. Close to half the fat in beef is the saturated kind, close to half the fat in lamb is too, and saturated fat is the part of meat most tied to inflammation. Neither one brings enough omega-3 to pull the other way: grazing leaves a trace of it in lamb, more than beef has, and it is still far too little to count next to oily fish.
Their good side is identical too. Both are complete protein, both carry heme iron, the form your body takes up most easily, and one serving of either covers most of a day of vitamin B12. So choose by cut rather than by animal, because the cut changes the fat far more than the animal does: leg and loin sit at the lean end, while 80/20 mince, shoulder, breast and ribs sit at the fatty end. Leave the merguez, the lamb sausage and the cured beef on the shelf, because cured meat is the group most tied to inflammation of all.
Side by side
| Beef | Lamb | |
|---|---|---|
| Inflammation Score | High · 7/10 | High · 7/10 |
| Category | Proteins | Proteins |
| Serving size | 3 oz (85 g) cooked | 3 oz (85 g) cooked |
| Key nutrients | Protein, Saturated fat, Heme iron, Vitamin B12 | Protein, Saturated fat, Zinc, Vitamin B12 |
| How often | — | — |
On the AIP diet
Beef
Beef is on the yes list for the elimination phase of the Autoimmune Protocol, and fresh cuts are one of the proteins the diet leans on. The line falls at what has been added to it. Cured and smoked beef, or anything rubbed with a spice mix, usually brings seed spices, sugar or preservatives, and those come out during elimination. Plain beef, cooked at home, stays in.
Lamb
Lamb is allowed during the elimination phase of the Autoimmune Protocol, and AIP leans on fresh red meat as a staple protein. What goes is anything mixed into it. Spice rubs usually bring seed spices, and merguez or lamb sausage can carry sugar, preservatives and gluten in the skin. Buy a plain cut, check the label lists meat and nothing else, and cook it at home.
What each one brings
Beef
- Complete protein: every amino acid your body cannot make
- The most absorbable iron of any common food
- A few ounces covers a whole day of vitamin B12
- Zinc, which people who cut out red meat often run short on
Lamb
- All the amino acids your body cannot make on its own
- Heme iron, the form your body takes up most easily
- One serving covers most of a day of vitamin B12, plus useful zinc
- Grazing leaves a little omega-3 in the fat
Watch out for
Beef
- Fatty cuts and 80/20 ground beef are a fifth fat by weight
- Close to half of that fat is the saturated kind
- No omega-3 fats to speak of, unlike oily fish
- Cured and smoked beef carries a heavier risk than fresh
Lamb
- Close to half the fat in lamb is the saturated kind
- Shoulder, breast, ribs and ground lamb are the fattiest cuts
- Too little omega-3 to count next to oily fish
- Merguez, lamb sausage and kebab meat belong with the cured meats
Get the inflammation score of any meal
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