STUDIES CONTINUE TO CONFIRM BEEF`S ROLE IN A HEALTHY DIET

DENVER (November 30, 1999) -- As millions of Americans make their New Years` resolutions to maintain a heart healthy diet, they won`t have to limit their diets to chicken and fish; medical experts say eating lean beef will do just fine. 

A checkoff-funded study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1999 demonstrated that eating lean beef can be just as effective as chicken in maintaining a heart healthy diet and may even reduce the risk for heart disease. What`s more, additional ongoing research funded by beef producers` checkoff dollars is providing further evidence that a naturally occurring fatty acid in beef may play a major role in reducing the risk of various cancers.

The first study compared the parity of beef with other dietary proteins in healthful diets by examining the impact of lean red and white meat on blood cholesterol levels.  Results found that a diet including six ounces of lean red meat consumed five or more days a week may actually reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

"It is the largest and longest study to provide evidence that the case against lean red meat has been misrepresented," says Michael H. Davidson, M.D., F.A.C.C., Chicago Center for Clinical Research (CCCR) and the study`s lead researcher.  "My hope is this study will allow people to go back to lean red meat as an option on their low fat diets," he says.

"Publishing this study was big news," says Dave Bateman, a beef producer from Elburn, Ill. and chairman of the beef industry`s Nutrition and Health Committee. "It goes against conventional wisdom and confirms what beef producers have been saying for decades; beef fits into healthy diets.  It`s good for you." 

Results from the study showed that both meats lowered participants` low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increased their high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels.  LDL is cholesterol associated with clogging arteries and HDL is associated with the removal of particles in the blood stream.  Together, these changes in blood cholesterol levels resulted in an estimated 10 percent reduction in the risk for coronary heart disease.

The parity study, titled "Comparison of the Effects of Lean Red Meat vs. Lean White Meat on Serum Lipid Levels Among Free-living Persons With Hypercholesterolemia," was conducted over a nine-month period by the Chicago Center for Clinical Research, The John Hopkins University Lipid Clinic and the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinics.

"With new research like this," says Davidson, "we were able to identify that it`s just as acceptable to eat lean red meat as it is to eat chicken or fish.  People don`t have to live on a spartan diet to live on a low fat diet and ultimately, that`s going to lead to a greater adherence to these diets for long periods of time."

Bateman agrees.  "This is the third beef checkoff-funded study to provide direct evidence that lean red meat can be equally as effective as chicken/fish in positively influencing blood lipids, thus reducing the risk of heart disease," he says.  Baylor College of Medicine conducted the two previous studies.

Two hundred and two men and women with mild to moderate blood cholesterol levels participated in the "parity" study and were free to make their own choices regarding food selection and preparation based on either a lean red meat diet or a lean white meat diet.

"We were pleased to find from the study that participants who consumed lean red meat seemed more likely to follow their diet regimen than participants consuming only lean white meat," says Bateman.  According to the researchers, the participants eating lean red meat seemed to show better compliance than those participants consuming lean white meat.

"Our overarching goal is to get research results out to the widest audience as possible, particularly the scientific and nutrition communities," says Bateman. "Checkoff dollars have gone towards disseminating the nutritional benefits of beef for years. These results should give health professionals one more great reason to recommend lean beef in heart-healthy diets."

This year, checkoff dollars also went to other ongoing nutrition research projects that study the health benefits of beef, including a component of beef called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a naturally occurring fatty acid.  A recently completed checkoff-funded study this year provided further evidence that CLA may play a key role in reducing the risk of breast cancer. 

In addition, a half-day symposium, funded with checkoff dollars, was held in Chicago during the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting. The symposium, "Positive Health Benefits of Conjugated Linoleic Acid, a Functional Food Component of Meat and Dairy Products," featured six scientists who have worked with NCBA in the area of CLA research.  Topics included CLA`s discovery and its very promising potential to reduce the risk of various cancers (including breast and skin) and to reduce the risk of developing diabetes.

"The IFT Annual Meeting draws more than 15,000 people and reaches scientists and health care professionals and influencers," says Bateman, "It`s an excellent example of how nutrition research is shared with and disseminated to the scientific community and the public," he said.

"As new checkoff-funded studies continue to show that beef is a healthy part of the diet," says Bateman, "consumers will be assured that eating beef is not only a delicious option, it is a very nutritious one, too."

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Nutrition research programs are funded by the national beef checkoff, which is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (Beef Board).  This 111-member board is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee the collection of the $1-per-head checkoff, certify state beef councils, implement the provisions of the Federal Order establishing the checkoff and evaluate the effectiveness of checkoff programs.

Under a contract with the Beef Board, this beef checkoff-funded effort is conducted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a trade association of America’s cattle ranchers and farmers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.  NCBA is producer-directed but consumer-focused, with offices in Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C.