The Skinny on Beef
Red meat too often gets a bad rap for being laden with fat and cholesterol.
While many health organizations recommend eating less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, people often conclude that they should avoid beef altogether and replace it with fish or skinless poultry. This is not necessarily true. Several recent studies demonstrate that eating lean red meat (beef, veal and pork) is just as effective in reducing "bad" cholesterol and raising "good" cholesterol as lean white meat (poultry and fish).
A common misperception about beef is that the majority of its fat is saturated, while in fact nearly half of the fat in lean beef is monounsaturated. This form of fat is believed to help lower blood cholesterol and reduce risk of heart disease.
As a rule of thumb, beef cuts with loin or round in the name are the leanest, including eye round, top round, round tip, top sirloin, bottom round, top loin and tenderloin.
Similarly, cuts of pork with loin in the name are leanest: tenderloin, top loin roast or chop, sirloin roast, loin rib chops.
Many now replace ground turkey for ground beef, but consider this: A 3-ounce serving of ground turkey can contain close to 11 grams of total fat compared to a 3-ounce serving of 95-percent lean/5-percent fat ground beef, which contains only five grams of fat.
Experts agree that including beef may provide the additional variety to help people stick with a low fat diet.
See also, Healthy Beef Recipes
Fitness and Freebies Low Fat Recipes Section Two
Fitness and Freebies Low Fat Recipes Section One
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