Beef’s Lipid Profile
January 12, 2009 by rainier
Lean beef contains less than 10 g total fat, no more than 4.5 g of SFAs, and less than 95 mg cholesterol per 3-ounce serving, a nutrition profile that readily fits into a heart-healthy diet . Based on the AHA’s dietary fat recommendations, individuals consuming a 2,000 calorie diet are advised to consume between 56 g and 78 g of total fat and a SFA intake of 16 g or less. As noted above, a 3-ounce serving of lean beef contains levels of total fat and SFA well below these limits, and cholesterol levels below the recommendation of <300 mg/day. There currently are 29 cuts of beef which meet USDA’s labeling guidelines for lean .
The fatty acid profile of beef fat is often misunderstood. In lean beef, 54% of the fatty acids are monounsaturated (MUFA) or polyunsaturated (PUFA), which are the types favored by health professional and government agencies such as the AHA (2) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans . Also, one-third of the SFAs in beef are stearic acid, which, unlike other long-chain SFAs, has been shown to be neutral in its effects on blood cholesterol levels in humans. In addition, beef naturally contains low amounts of trans fatty acids and evidence suggests that ruminant trans fatty acids, unlike the trans fatty acids produced industrially in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, do not increase the risk of CVD and actually may favorably affect health .
Emerging findings from experimental animal studies suggest that the trans fatty acid, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), particularly rumenic acid (c9, t11, isomer) which is produced in beef, may have a favorable influence on blood lipid levels and CVD risk. However, the effects of CLA, and in particular its individual isomers, on lipid levels and CVD risk in humans remain to be determined.
