AST Sports Science | Breaking Research 6-22-98 | Lean Red Meat Lowers Bad Cholesterol

Lean Red Meat Lowers "Bad" Cholesterol
Increases "Good" Cholesterol

A new study has found a diet with lean red meat is just as effective as one with lean white meat in reducing bad cholesterol.

The results, published in the latest issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, came from a 36-week study by researchers at the Chicago Center for Clinical Research.

The researchers sought to determine the long-term effects of lean red meat (veal, pork, beef) or lean white meat (poultry and fish) diets on 191 people with mild to moderate high cholesterol.

The study followed guidelines of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) which call for consumption of 28 grams of lean meat per day, five to seven days per week.

Participants were randomly asked to eat at least 80 percent of their meat in the form of either lean red meat or lean white meat.

The researchers found that both diets yielded similar cuts in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C or "bad" cholesterol) levels and rises in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C or "good" cholesterol) levels, which remained throughout the 36 week study.

"Counseling patients to replace high-fat meats with leaner red and white selections allows a greater range of food choices, which may improve patient acceptance and long-term dietary adherence," researchers said.

The NCEP diet guidelines limits intake of fat to 30 percent or less of total calorie intake, saturated fat to 8 percent to 10 percent of total calories and cholesterol to less than 300 milligrams per day.

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