Free Food for Life: How the New Four Food Groups Can Save Your Life by M. D. Neal Barnard Page A
Authors: M. D. Neal Barnard
read that chicken has the same cholesterol content as beef. It does—about 25 mg per ounce. 5 Chicken is not a healthfood. It has received an undeservedly good reputation because it can be somewhat lower in fat than beef, depending on how it is prepared. But cholesterol is primarily in the
lean
portion of meats. There is a relationship between cholesterol and fat, as we shall see, but
cholesterol and fat are not the same thing
.
All fish products contain significant amounts of cholesterol, too. Shellfish, such as shrimp, lobster, or crayfish, are higher in cholesterol, ounce for ounce, than beef. But the point to remember is that all animal tissues contain cholesterol.
Eggs are packed with cholesterol. A single egg contains 213 mg, entirely in the yolk. That is a huge load, the most concentrated cholesterol in any common food.
Some people may believe that, since our bodies use cholesterol, we need it in our diet. Wrong. Our bodies make plenty of cholesterol for our needs, and we do not need to add any. And when we do, the cholesterol is left where it does not belong—in plaques in our arteries. There is no “good cholesterol” as far as foods are concerned. Simply put, cholesterol in food raises your cholesterol level. Animal products are the only source of cholesterol in the American diet.
But saturated fat is even worse.
Saturated
is a chemical term that means the fat molecule is completely covered with hydrogen atoms. If it is not, it is called
unsaturated
. If there is room for just one pair of hydrogen atoms to add on, it is called
monounsaturated
. And if there is room for more than one hydrogen atom, it is called
polyunsaturated
. Saturated fats stimulate your liver to make more cholesterol, while unsaturated fats do not.
Luckily, saturated fats are easy to spot because they are solid at room temperature, unlike unsaturated varieties, which are liquid. Beef, chicken, and most other animal products contain substantial amounts of saturated fat. Getting animal fat out of the diet has a dramatic effect on cholesterol levels. But do not get the idea that trimming the strip of fat off the outside of a cut of meat will eliminate the animal fat. Meats have fat not only on the outer edge but also marbled throughout the lean part. In the leanest cuts of beef, about 30 percent of the calories are from fat. In the leanest chicken, the figure is about 20 percent. Both of these are far higher than grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits, which are comfortably below 10 percent.
Unfortunately, the food industry has not been entirely honest in presenting its products, and consumers have not gotten much help in deciding what to buy. McDonald’s, for example, trumpeted the arrival of the McLeanDeluxe Burger, claiming that it was 91 percent fat-free. McDonald’s was reporting the fat content
by weight
. But when dietitians or scientists measure the fat content of foods, they are not interested in the percentage by weight because water content can throw off the measurements. For example, whole milk is only 3.3 percent fat by weight because most of it is water. But if you were to separate out the water, as the body does in the process of digestion, and see what you were left with, fully 49 percent of milk’s calories come from fat. That is the number dietitians care about.
As a percentage of calories, regular ground beef is 60 percent fat. Extra-lean ground beef is 54 percent. If you were to analyze the fat content of the McLean Deluxe burger patty by percentage of calories, you would find that it is 49 percent fat. This is not surprising because the burger’s main ingredient is—you guessed it—ground beef. The bun and toppings dilute it down to 29 percent fat, but the 9 percent figure is a McFib.
Likewise, when Empire Turkey Pastrami slices are marketed as 96 percent fat-free, it is an utterly meaningless statistic. Yes, it is 4 percent fat by weight. But when you pull out the water and measure fat as a percentage of
lean
portion of meats. There is a relationship between cholesterol and fat, as we shall see, but
cholesterol and fat are not the same thing
.
All fish products contain significant amounts of cholesterol, too. Shellfish, such as shrimp, lobster, or crayfish, are higher in cholesterol, ounce for ounce, than beef. But the point to remember is that all animal tissues contain cholesterol.
Eggs are packed with cholesterol. A single egg contains 213 mg, entirely in the yolk. That is a huge load, the most concentrated cholesterol in any common food.
Some people may believe that, since our bodies use cholesterol, we need it in our diet. Wrong. Our bodies make plenty of cholesterol for our needs, and we do not need to add any. And when we do, the cholesterol is left where it does not belong—in plaques in our arteries. There is no “good cholesterol” as far as foods are concerned. Simply put, cholesterol in food raises your cholesterol level. Animal products are the only source of cholesterol in the American diet.
But saturated fat is even worse.
Saturated
is a chemical term that means the fat molecule is completely covered with hydrogen atoms. If it is not, it is called
unsaturated
. If there is room for just one pair of hydrogen atoms to add on, it is called
monounsaturated
. And if there is room for more than one hydrogen atom, it is called
polyunsaturated
. Saturated fats stimulate your liver to make more cholesterol, while unsaturated fats do not.
Luckily, saturated fats are easy to spot because they are solid at room temperature, unlike unsaturated varieties, which are liquid. Beef, chicken, and most other animal products contain substantial amounts of saturated fat. Getting animal fat out of the diet has a dramatic effect on cholesterol levels. But do not get the idea that trimming the strip of fat off the outside of a cut of meat will eliminate the animal fat. Meats have fat not only on the outer edge but also marbled throughout the lean part. In the leanest cuts of beef, about 30 percent of the calories are from fat. In the leanest chicken, the figure is about 20 percent. Both of these are far higher than grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits, which are comfortably below 10 percent.
Unfortunately, the food industry has not been entirely honest in presenting its products, and consumers have not gotten much help in deciding what to buy. McDonald’s, for example, trumpeted the arrival of the McLeanDeluxe Burger, claiming that it was 91 percent fat-free. McDonald’s was reporting the fat content
by weight
. But when dietitians or scientists measure the fat content of foods, they are not interested in the percentage by weight because water content can throw off the measurements. For example, whole milk is only 3.3 percent fat by weight because most of it is water. But if you were to separate out the water, as the body does in the process of digestion, and see what you were left with, fully 49 percent of milk’s calories come from fat. That is the number dietitians care about.
As a percentage of calories, regular ground beef is 60 percent fat. Extra-lean ground beef is 54 percent. If you were to analyze the fat content of the McLean Deluxe burger patty by percentage of calories, you would find that it is 49 percent fat. This is not surprising because the burger’s main ingredient is—you guessed it—ground beef. The bun and toppings dilute it down to 29 percent fat, but the 9 percent figure is a McFib.
Likewise, when Empire Turkey Pastrami slices are marketed as 96 percent fat-free, it is an utterly meaningless statistic. Yes, it is 4 percent fat by weight. But when you pull out the water and measure fat as a percentage of
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