A Lean Choice
Trimmed of fat – either before or after cooking – beef is lean (no more than 10% fat). In fact, many trimmed beef cuts qualify as “extra lean”, with 7.5% fat or less. Cuts from the hip, such as round steak/roasts, sirloin tip, are usually the leanest choices.
Visit What’s in Beef? for more on the amount of fat in specific cuts of beef.
Fatty Acid Profile of Beef
About half the total fat in beef is monounsaturated. About 30% of the saturated fatty acids in beef are in the form of stearic acid, which does not raise LDL blood cholesterol.1,2
1 Kris-Etherton PM and Yu S. Am J Clin Nutr, 1997; 65(Suppl):1628S-44S.
2 Yu, S et al. Am J Clin Nutr, 1995; 61(5):1129-39.
Trimming makes a difference
Trimming has a major impact on the fat content of both raw and cooked cuts.
Lean beef compares favourably to chicken without the skin
Lean beef compares favourably to fish
Natural Trans Fat
There is a small amount of trans fats found naturally in beef (and dairy products); trans fatty acids are found naturally in ruminant animals as the result of biohydrogenation by ruminant bacteria.
Natural trans fats in beef are different from the manufactured trans fats found in processed foods like cookies and salty snacks. Most of the trans fat in the Canadian diet comes from commercially made baked goods and snack foods, for example chips, crackers, cookies. These trans fats have been linked to increased risk of heart disease.
Research is finding that natural trans fats does not appear to be associated with health problems.1 In fact, preliminary studies indicate that the small amount of trans fats in beef may be beneficial for human health. For example, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) – a type of trans fat – has been shown to fight cancer cells.2,3 This research, while in its early stages, is promising.
1 CLA Network www.clanetwork.com.
2 Kemp MQ et al. J Nutr, 2003; 133: 3670-77.
3 Hubbard NE, et al. Cancer Lett, 2003; 190: 13-19.