“FROM THE BEEF BOARD” – Southern Livestock Standard

“The checkoff has talked about the protein equation, but meeting all nutrient needs within the calorie allowance allotted by age, gender and activity level can be challenging when we look at ‘eating right.’  Beef supplies significantly fewer calories and more nutrients than many plant proteins.  It often takes more than twice the calories to get the same amount of protein from beans, nuts and grains compared to beef.”

“But wait!  Don’t discount the fat.  You beef checkoff also questioned the long-held saturated-fat  hypothesis as it relates to nutrition research.  By taking an evidence-based approach, the checkoff discovered that whatever diet you want, beef can be included.  It doesn’t always have to be lean beef.

For example, a common misconception is that the majority of the fatty acids in beef are saturated.  In reality, however, half the fatty acids in beef are monounsaturated, the same heart-healthy type found in olive oil.   In addition, nearly one-third of the fat in beef is stearic acid, a fatty acid that has been shown to have a neutral effect on LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol).

In a checkoff-commissioned experimental obesity intervention with older adults who are frail, using protein to offset the challenge to muscle mass during weight loss, a Ph.D, RD professor of medicine at Duke University said, “What we found was that weight reduction was good for everybody in the study but for those who had beef twice a day and a total of three meals per day, with 30 grams of protein in each, the increase in function at the end of the study was more than double that in the control group.”