Cholesterol and Beef

Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood. A certain amount is essential for normal body function. High blood cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease. Most of the cholesterol in your body is produced by you, not by foods containing cholesterol. However blood cholesterol levels can become elevated if you eat too many foods high in saturated fats.

So for many people saturated fat intake is a more important factor than dietary cholesterol.

What is meant by good & bad cholesterol?
The two forms of cholesterol exist in your body:

HDL CHOLESTEROL LDL CHOLESTEROL
High density lipoprotein Low density lipoprotein –
-Good cholesterol Bad Cholesterol

Picks up excess cholesterol from Carries cholesterol around the
Walls of the blood vessels body and can deposit it in the
And eliminates it from the body walls of the blood vessels

Regular exercise can help Eating foods high in saturated fat
Maintain a high level of this and being overweight can lead to
Good cholesterol an increased level of this bad cholesterol

Keep LDL cholesterol as low as possible and HDL as high as possible

Know your fats

The fats found in food fall into three main groups. Each has a different effect on your cholesterol level:
– saturated fat
– Polyunsaturated fat
– Monounsaturated fat

Saturated fat
Found mainly in butter, cream, lard, meat fat, chicken skin, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, crisps and deep fried food.

Polyunsaturated Fats – PUFA
Found mainly in vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower, corn and soya bean. Brazil nuts, walnuts and oily fish are also rich sources of this type of fat.
PUFAs in small amounts can help to lower LDL cholesterol levels. Fish oils are a type of PUFA, which help blood circulation and reduce blood clotting.

Monounsaturated fats – MUFA
Found mainly in olive, peanut and rapeseed oils as well as avocados, olives, almonds, hazelnuts and peanuts.
MUFA in moderate amounts can help lower LDL cholesterol levels and maintain HDL cholesterol levels.

Reduce your total intake of fat and eat a balance of the different types of fat.

Where does beef fit as part of a heart healthy diet?

Lean beef is low in fat and can be included in a heart healthy diet. The fat content of lean beef is similar to that of white chicken meat and is a mixture of the three different types of fat. Indeed studies have shown that lean red meat is as effective as chicken in maintaining or even lowering cholesterol levels.
Over half of the fat in meat is monosaturated and so contributes to maintaining healthy fat levels in the blood.
Unlike most other foods, almost all the fat in meat is visible and can be trimmed away. It is an excellent source of dietary iron and high in vitamin A and the B group vitamins as well as zinc, copper, magnesium, potassium and phosphate.

Fresh meat is also low in salt, another important consideration in a healthy heart diet.

Tips to be physically active

Being active has many health benefits such as:
Healthier heart, blood and lungs
Stronger bones
Less body fat
Improved stress management
More energy and feel good factor

Aim to:
Be active at least five days of the week, work towards 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, enough to make you feel warm and puffed!

Build up your level of activity gradually, every little helps, for example, park further from where you want to go and walk the rest.

Choose activities that you enjoy, for example, gardening, DIY or walking.

The level of activity appropriate to you depends on:
Your age and general health
How active you have been in the past few months
What you enjoy doing and suits your lifestyle.
If in doubt about how much you should exercise, consult your G.P.

Are you a healthy weight?

Being overweight may increase your cholesterol level. Therefore an important step for a heart healthy diet should be to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
Research has found that one in two Irish adults are overweight obese.

Checklist to keep your heart healthy.

Be more active
Eat more fruit and vegetables
Less high fat food
Use low fat cooking methods
Try to be a healthy weight
Do not smoke
Cut back on salt