High cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease, and it can be easily impacted by food choices. In this study, researchers randomly assigned more than 100 adults to a high saturated fat diet (with lots of butter and fatty dairy) that was meatless, chicken-based, or red meat-based, or a low saturated fat diet (with lowfat dairy) that was meatless, chicken-based, or red meat-based. In both groups, people followed each variation (meatless, chicken-based, or red meat-based) for 4 weeks each, in a random order. Regardless of the protein source, those in the higher saturated fat diet groups had significantly higher levels of total cholesterol and “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. Additionally, those in the meatless group (who got their protein from soy, eggs, legumes, nuts, and dairy) had significantly lower “bad” (LDL) cholesterol than those in the chicken or red meat groups, with no significant differences observed between chicken and red meat on cholesterol.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2019 Jun 4. pii: nqz035. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz035. [Epub ahead of print] (Bergeron N et al.)