After controlling for confounding factors such as socioeconomic status and lifestyle, meat consumption is associated with neutral or beneficial health outcomes.

Study: Effects of Minimally Processed Red Meat within a Plant-Forward Diet on Biomarkers of Physical and Cognitive Aging: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Feeding Trial

This study found that older adults who ate lean pork as part of a healthy diet didn’t get worse off—they actually had better 'good' cholesterol and improved insulin response compared to those who ate lentils instead. So meat isn’t necessarily bad for you when it’s unprocessed and eaten with lots of plants.

Study: Substitutions of Saturated Fatty Acids From Different Meats With Dairy and Incident Relationship With Cardiovascular Diseases: The UK Biobank Prospective Study

This study found that swapping out processed meats (like bacon or sausages) for unprocessed meats or dairy can lower heart disease risk, suggesting that not all meat is bad — and some meat might be fine or even helpful when eaten instead of processed types.

Study: Meat Consumption and Cognitive Health by APOE Genotype

For some people with a specific gene, eating more meat (like beef or chicken, not processed meats) was linked to better memory and less dementia as they aged. This doesn't mean meat helps everyone, but it does show it can be good for some, which supports the idea that meat isn't always bad for health.

Study: Replacing red meat with non-soy legumes alters choline metabolites but not systemic inflammation or proxies of gut barrier function in healthy males in a 6-week RCT.

This study found that cutting back on red meat and eating more beans didn't make healthy people more inflamed or hurt their gut health — so eating meat in moderation doesn't seem to harm them.