10/15/08 Good beef with fat

It's been a dirty word in many dietary circles for years, but maybe fat was just getting a bad rap. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back with some enlightened fat news. For as long as I can remember if someone mentioned fat in a human nutritional discussion that person better be denouncing the evils of this dietary component or suffer serious ridicule. Well, the last issue of Western Farmer-Stockman had article after article about the benefits of beef protein and dare I say it  beef fat. Saturated fat has been a notoriously nasty term, but the fact is this fat group is one of the body's basic building blocks. They make up half of cell membrane structures, enhance calcium absorption and immune response, help synthesize essential fatty acids and are a real source of fat-soluble vitamins. Almost half the fat in beef is monounsaturated and new evidence shows these fats could possibly reduce the risk of heat disease and stroke. This fat group is usually thought to help lower LDL cholesterol and maybe raise HDL cholesterol. I'm sure just about everyone has heard of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which are polyunsaturated fats. We need to consume them because our bodies can't synthesize enough. Don't worry, these little guys are in beef too. Well, since beef and beef fat intake has taken such a scolding for so many years, tomorrow I'll give you a little history of fat negativity and more positive fatty facts. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Farmer-Stockman October 2008