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Where’s the beef? Red meat can be part of low-cholesterol diet
If you have high cholesterol, you might not need to skip the steak after all — just don’t plan on ordering the rib eye. A recent study conducted by Pennsylvania State University researchers and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that a well-rounded diet, complete with lean beef, may actually lower cholesterol just as effectively as a sans-beef diet.
The study summary
This new research contradicts what we’ve heard time and time again: Red meat is a red flag for those trying to avoid high cholesterol. Between late 2007 and early 2009, researchers followed 36 people with borderline-high cholesterol who were given four different diets, all of which contained about the same number of calories, for five weeks each:
- Diet No. 1: the “healthy American diet,” which included fruits, vegetables, oils, saturated fat and refined grains;
- Diet No. 2: the DASH diet, a diet containing mostly fruits and veggies that is often recommended for patients with high blood pressure; and
- Diet No. 3 & 4: included 4-oz. and 5.5-oz lean meat per day in the form of grilled, braised or fried top round, chuck shoulder pot roast and 95% lean ground beef.
The results indicated that the “healthy American diet” slightly raised cholesterol, while the DASH diet and lean-beef-inclusive diets lowered LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol from an average of 139 mg/dL to 129 mg/dL and lowered total cholesterol from an average of 211 mg/dL to 200 mg/dL.
About cholesterol
LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, cholesterol is considered the “bad” cholesterol because elevated LDL levels can cause plaque to form in artery walls and are thus associated with increased risk of heart disease. HDL, or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, is considered the “good” cholesterol because high HDL levels help prevent the development of heart disease.
What qualifies as lean meat?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, “lean meat” means it contains less than 10 g of fat, 4.5 g or less of saturated fat and less than 95 mg of cholesterol per a 3.5-oz. serving. “Extra-lean meat” means the cut has less than 5 g of total fat, 2 g or less of saturated fat and less than 95 mg of cholesterol per a 3.5-oz. serving.
If you’re watching your cholesterol, here’s a list of cuts of meat that “make the cut” for “lean beef” labeling, in order from least to most fat content:
- Eye of round roast and steak
- Sirloin tip side steak
- Top round roast and steak
- Bottom round roast and steak
- Top sirloin steak
- Brisket- flat half
- 95% lean ground beef
- Round tip roast and steak
- Round steak
- Shank cross cuts
- Chuck shoulder pot roast
- Sirloin tip center roast and steak
- Chuck shoulder steak
- Bottom round steak
- Top loin (strip steak)
- Shoulder petite tender and medallions
- Flank steak
- Shoulder center (ranch) steak
- Tri-tip roast and steak
- Tenderloin roast and steak
- T-bone steak
Tags: beef, cholesterol, DASH diet, food, HDL, healthy diet, healthy eating, high cholesterol, LDL, red meat, steak
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That’s all explained in the Book “Eat Right for Your Blood Type by Dr. D’Adamo. It’s VERY interesting. Type “O”, like me, can lower cholesterol by eating more protien but that’s NOT true for a type “A” blood type. Check it out!
1) Who paid for this study?
2) They should have used venison for one of the study groups. I have many patients ( and myself) who eat venison regularly and have low Chol and high HDL.
3)Cathy’s comment about Dr. Adamo’s “Eat Right for Your Blood type is false. REAL scientific studies have proven that is hog wash.
Please note the careful wording of the punchline of this article: It was the healthy american diet that raised cholestrol, but the veggie and the lean meats diet AVERAGED together that lowered cholesterol.
Mathematically, this means that the lean meat diet alone could have raised cholesterol by 50 points if the all veggie diet lowered it by 61.
Understand that this entire article was a farce at the 36 patient sample size, before the flagrant propaganda and statistical merry go round.
Actually Jeff, no one’s trying to trick you here. The results, without being averaged, are still statistically significant. You can view the more detailed results at the AJCN website here.
People with high cholesterol are frequently told to avoid red meat because the tastiest cuts are usually the ones that are high in saturated fat, which can increase cholesterol levels. The lean meats don’t contain the high fat content and thus don’t raise cholesterol.
(revised comment) Thanks Jazzy for pointing out the truth. The power of the beef lobby in the US is apparent. The Hella Well article suggests that Diet 1 Cholesterol is a by-product of beef and other meats and in the west we consume entirely too much of it. It is part of a meat based diet. There is a lot of pressure on the USDA to come out as meat friendly. To the extent that our food choices shift toward vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and fruit we will be healthier.For detailed information about healthy diet and food google PCRM and Dr. Neal Barnard. Although some meat choices are better than others, the excesses of US meat consumption trends as are bad for the planet as they are for our health.