Cholesterol (Maybe lean gr beef isnt so bad after all)

So, Ive been told to watch my cholesterol because its a little high. I was looking at replacing the lean ground beef I buy with ground turkey or ground chicken. Ok, are my eyes deceiving me or what? The lean beef I buy - usually a 95/5 or 93/7 lean to fat ratio) has less than a boneless skinless chicken breast and only slighty more or in some cases slighty less then most ground turkey. This is according to the nutrition fatcs here on CC. Am I reading this wrong? When I was told to cut out or really limit ground beef was my doc talking about the fatty cuts of it? Should I aim for as many meatless meals as possible? Ive never really used the veggie burgers or ground "meat" such as Boca or Morning Star but I picked up a few to try. Any thoughts or ideas or help? Thanks!

*bump*

Bumping it up so maybe someone will answer you. I'd like an answer to this question, too!

I am by no means an expert but maybe this is something to get you started on a bit of research... when I was researching eggs online (because it is now believed that eggs don't in fact raise cholesterol in people with normal cholesterol levels) I read that the thing to avoid is not the cholesterol itself necessarily, but saturated fat. Which beef has more of than turkey or chicken, I believe.

Incidentally, my grocery store also sells extra lean ground turkey, which is actually ground up turkey breast. I think it has 1g fat per 4oz serving and 120 cal. The downside: it's a bit expensive, at my store at least...

Your doctor was assuming that you are purchasing regular ground chuck or ground round.  Most ground meat has a significant amount of fat and saturated fat per 4oz serving.  Extra lean ground beef however has very little fat and saturated fat in comparison.

My doctor also wants me to reduce my cholesterol level.  He stated that problems with cholesterol is is genetic for the most part, but cholesterol levels can be reduced through proper diet and exercise.  He recommended that I stay away from processed foods and saturated fats.  He also recommended that cut bread out of my diet completely (I'm not going to though, I love it too much) as he believes that I am carb sensitive and this could be a contributing factor toward my moderately high cholesterol levels.  He recommended that I eat 5 ~ 6 servings of dark green vegetables per day.  He stated the darker the better.  He also recommended 4 servings of fresh fruit per day.  No canned food products.

Hi fellow meat and egg eater. :)

I just found out a month ago that I have bad cholestrol as well.  My HDL(good cholestrol) is 18 and my LDL(bad) is 160.

I reasearched  this extensively and found that it is more the sat fat that leads to bad cholestrol or high cholestrol but the cholestrol count itself matters.  Your total cholestrol should be less than 200 a day.  Cholestrol is produced by your liver but is mainly found in animal by products so limiting meat will most certainly help.  Also avoid sat fat.  Getting the good fats will actually help you lower your cholestrol while raising your good cholestrol.  I have switched to a high fiber "heart healthy" diet rich in veggies, fiber, and omega 3.  I take omega 3 and fiber supplements daily.

Cholestrol is primarily hereditary.  The fiber binds to and removes cholestrol from your system.  The Omega 3 raises your HDL (good cholestrol) which carries the LDL back to your liver for digestion and removal.  So the less cholestrol in (by watching your diet) and the more cholestrol out (high fiber and higher HDL levels) the better of you will be.

On my diet consisting of lots of fiber, whole wheat breads and pastas, veggies, fruits, hardly any processed foods, very lean turkey (1 serving a day), chicken breast for dinner, and better'eggs egg substitute, rice, and food rich in Omega 3, I have raised my HDL from 18 to 36, and lowered my LDL from 160 to 121 in 2 WEEKS!!!! :)  I am so excited.

Oh and I am a red meat eater, so it has been very hard. What I do is splurge once a week on red meat as it does have the highest sat fat content of any meat.  I will have a filet mignon, or spaghetti with meat, or a lean burger to treat myself.  And about the eggs...one egg has like 212 gms of cholestrol.  Better n' eggs has 0 and taste the same.  I like it better than egg beaters because it doesn't taste like green chives. 

Good luck.  If you want a copy of my self made diet plan to see if it works for you, let me know.  I will be happy to share such a good thing.

Oh and I had some input from my Doc as well.  I didn't go willy nilly on the internet about this.  It is a MAJOR lifestyle change for me! :)

I've heard the same thing about saturated fats.  And some foods like shrimp and "higher in cholesterol" but they don't actually raise YOUR cholesterol.

A natural treatment is to reduce saturated fat, up your exercise, up the number of fruits and veggies you eat, eat oatmeal/oat products, add a dash of cinnamon to your foods each day, and maybe take a niacin capsule daily.  Niacin has been proven to lower cholesterol but dosages vary and too much niacin isn't good.

I think I'm carb sensitive too but the important thing is to keep blood sugars and insulin levels pretty level throughout the day.  That's much better and practical than "cutting out bread completely."  (My mom's a vigilant diabetic; I learned this stuff from her and her reading material.)

yeah my doc wanted to put me on niaspan and lipitor.  But Lipitor and Niaspan ecspecially together can cause liver failure and muscle breakdown.

Niacin is good for raising HDL.  It does not lower your LDL.  And it should be used under doctor supervision.  The over the counter niacin's can be dangerous.  There are different forms, and I was told do not ever take the slow release over the counter ones.