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Healthy eating is a growing concern for many Americans. The
market is flooded with food options boasting “reduced fat,” “low
fat” or “no fat.” Meat products join in, to the extent they can
be described as “lean.”
Meats offer many benefits, including some essential dietary
fats. “They are an incredible source of protein, and all the
amino acids that are needed for health,” says Dr. Betsy Booren,
director of scientific affairs for the American Meat Institute
Foundation. “They also have nutrients like iron, zinc, niacin,
selenium, riboflavin and other B vitamins.”
But to be considered “lean” by
USDA definition, meat must contain less than 10 grams total fat,
4.5 grams or less of saturated fat and less than 90 milligrams
of cholesterol per serving.
All of the hype about fat has
led some consumers to believe meat cannot be healthy if it
tastes good. They might think the only way to get lean beef is
to buy from the lower-grade Select case. But flavor does not
have to be the sacrificial lamb of healthy eating.
Lots of high-quality cuts of
beef are “lean” as well. For example, the Certified Angus Beef ®
(CAB®) brand is known for full flavor but has 24 cuts that also
hit the lean beef target. Those range from roasts and brisket to
tenderloin steak (see table).
“A lot of processed products
advertised as lean, especially the cheaper ones, don’t have much
flavor because they are made with soy and added water to dilute
the fat,” says Mark Gwin quality control and research and
development manager for CAB. “I’d rather enjoy more flavor in a
balanced diet and have a glass of water on the side,” he adds.
“Intramuscular fat (IMF), or
marbling, largely determines beef carcass value,” says Texas A&M
University meat biologist Stephen Smith. “Beef with more
marbling tastes better to most people.”
“The difference in total fat percentage between Select and
Choice is only between 2% and 3%,” Gwin says. “When consumers
purchase less-marbled, Select cuts, they are giving up a lot of
palatability, texture and quality for a very small difference in
that total.”
Marbling can offer more than
improved taste. “There’s a health benefit to eating well-marbled
beef, compared to the lower-grading kind,” Smith says. Beef with
more marbling contains more oleic acid, and it has been shown
that oleic acid can decrease LDL cholesterol. The levels of
saturated and trans-fatty acids in beef decrease with more oleic
acid.
Most lean beef cuts come from
the round or the chuck, but other products like the brisket or
95% lean ground beef are included in the category as well.
However, not all lean beef is equal.
Smith and a team of researchers found the brisket contained high
levels of oleic acid while the plate and the flank had more
saturated fat than any of the others they studied.
Even though lean meats are
considered a healthy food product, Booren advises consumers not
to get carried away with eliminating fat in their diet. “Fats
sometimes get a bad rap, but having a level of fat, whether it’s
saturated or unsaturated, is necessary for healthy living also,”
she says.
Consumers can still maintain
healthy diets while enjoying meats that fall just outside of the
lean category. “If people like the flavor and the palatability
of some cuts of the higher grade beef, they need to look at
portion size,” Booren says.
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