EATING LEAN BEEF DAILY CAN HELP LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE
Contrary to
conventional wisdom, a growing body of evidence shows that eating lean beef can
reduce risk factors for heart disease, according to recent research by
nutritional scientists.
"This research
adds to the significant evidence, including work previously done in our lab,
that supports lean beef's role in a heart-healthy diet," said Penny M.
Kris-Etherton, Distinguished Professor of Nutrition, Penn State. "This
study shows that nutrient-rich lean beef can be included as part of a
heart-healthy diet that reduces blood pressure, which can help lower the risk
for cardiovascular disease."
The DASH eating plan
-- Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension -- is currently recommended by the
American Heart Association to lower blood pressure and reduce risk of heart
disease. People following the DASH diet are encouraged to eat fruits, vegetables,
low-fat dairy and protein predominantly from plant sources.
The Beef Checkoff
Program and the National Institutes of Health-supported Penn State General
Clinical Research Center funded this research.
Lean beef can be
enjoyed as the predominant protein source in a DASH-like diet, along with
fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy, to effectively help lower blood pressure
in healthy individuals, the researchers report in the Journal
of Human Hypertension. This DASH-like diet is also called the BOLD+
diet -- Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet plus additional protein.
Kris-Etherton and
colleagues tested four diets to find the effects on vascular health. The diets
tested included the Healthy American Diet -- which served as the control -- the
BOLD+ diet, the BOLD diet and the DASH diet.
The control diet
consisted of 0.7 ounces of lean beef per day, while the DASH diet included 1.0
ounce. The BOLD diet had 4.0 ounces and the BOLD+ diet included 5.4 ounces of
lean beef.
The researchers
tested the four different diets with 36 participants, between the ages of 30
and 65. All participants followed each diet at different times throughout the
study period. Subjects were randomly assigned an order to follow each of the
four diet plans for five weeks each, with a break of one week in between each
new plan. Blood pressure was taken at the beginning and end of each diet
period.
The BOLD+ diet was
more effective at reducing blood pressure when compared to the other diets
tested.
"This evidence
suggests that it is the total protein intake -- not the type of protein -- that
is instrumental in reducing blood pressure, as part of a DASH-like dietary
pattern," the researchers stated.
Working with
Kris-Etherton were Michael A. Roussell, nutrition consultant; Sheila G. West,
associate professor of biobehavioral health; Jan S. Ulbrecht, professor of
biobehavioral health; John P. Vanden Heuvel, professor of veterinary science,
all at Penn State; Alison M. Hill, lecturer in nutrition, University of South
Australia; Trent L. Gaugler, visiting assistant professor of statistics,
Carnegie Mellon University; and Peter J. Gillies, professor and director of the
Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health at Rutgers,
The State University
of New Jersey.
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