Rethinking Saturated Fats in Our Diet

Over the last decade many scientists have rethought and reevaluated the role of saturated fats in heart disease. There have also been new books and studies that have challenged that old way of thinking that saturated fats are a culprit in heart disease.
Vilifying animal products and diminishing their nutritional value may have brought some untended consequences, as National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Executive Director of Human Nutrition Research and registered dietitian Dr. Shalene McNeil explains?McNeil: “There may be untended consequences to cutting back on animal foods like beef. For example, beef is known to be one of the highest quality proteins. It is loaded with essential nutrients. One three ounce serving of beef provides 10 essential nutrients things like zinc, iron and protein so these are very nutritious high quality protein sources that often replace less healthy food choices in our diet like junk food. So that may be one of the untended consequences that including foods like beef in your diet may replace less healthful foods like refined carbohydrates.”
The recent research results that have hit mainstream media reaffirms the benefits of eating beef. Another piece of research, The Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet or BOLD study which completed in 2012 discovered that the participants in the BOLD study experienced a 10 percent decrease in LDL cholesterol — or bad cholesterol — when they ate lean beef daily as part of a heart-healthy diet.