Study: Red meat consumption in higher healthy eating index diets is associated with brain health critical nutritional adequacy, and fecal microbial diversity. Red meat has faced scrutiny due to associations with cancer and cardiovascular disease. These groups were high-HEI with red meat (HH-R), low-HEI with red meat (LH-R), high-HEI without red meat (HH-NR), and low-HEI without red meat (LH-NR), with 319, 2,121, 325, and 878 participants, respectively. In both low- and high-HEI groups, red meat consumers consistently had higher intakes of certain brain health-critical micronutrients than non-consumers. Both high-HEI groups had favorable macronutrient profiles, with red meat contributing to improved nutritional adequacy.