How can white meat impact your health? New study gives answers

A recent study debunked all previous theories that red meat is the only food which has a great impact on cholesterol. The researchers found out that even white meat has an identical effect on cholesterol levels in the body. The study was published in the journal, 'American Journal of Clinical Nutrition'

According to the researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, the study breaks the prolonged mentality of people that eating white meat will be less harmful to the heart as compared to red meat. Though there may be several other effects of eating red meat which can trigger cardiovascular diseases. Several non-meat protein products such as vegetables, dairy, and legumes, including beans, are the ones which show the best cholesterol benefit.

It is generally known that saturated fats which are generally obtained from animal sources like butter, beef fat, poultry skin and many more increases the concentration of Low-Density Lipoproteins. in blood or "bad" cholesterol which is usually a waxy substance can block up your arteries which could result in a cardiac arrest or a heart attack, according to CNN.

Dietitians now believe that high saturated fat content of red meat increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, yet all the theories go in vain as no further tests have been done to prove the above-stated theory. Now the researchers felt the need to bring the theory to test.

For the test, more than 100 healthy men and women of the age bracket 21 and 65 were asked to either consume food with high-saturated fat, provided primarily butter and full-fat foods, or low saturated fat groups. All the participants, who refrained from consuming alcohol during the study, cycled through three test diets: red meat diet, white meat diet and then a no meat diet.

Each kind of diet lasted for about four weeks and was later put to halt by a "washout period" where the participants were asked to eat their usual food. The main source of red meat listed by the researchers was beef, while chicken served as the main white meat protein.

Blood samples of all the participants were collected before and after the start of each diest test. Finally, the study results revealed that plant proteins had a healthier impact on blood cholesterol. Participants who consumed a diet rich in saturated fats had higher total LDL cholesterol rather than those who were assigned to consume a diet low in saturated fats.

The study also divulged the size of the cholesterol particles where small particles contribute more to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) risk as compared to the large ones.

(With inputs from agencies.)