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American Morning
Beef in Moderation Can Be Healthy
Aired June 28, 2002 - 08:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Millions of Americans are going to be standing over their barbecue grills on the 4th of July, but the beef that had been the staple of the grill apparently getting a bad rap lately for loading us up with cholesterol. Is the reputation justified?
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a man who can chew on a whole lot of things, with us this morning. Good morning to you, pal. How are you?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks a lot, yes. I brought a lot to chew on there, Bill.
HEMMER: Yes, you did.
GUPTA: Maybe a bad rap, maybe not. Since the 1980s, really, beef has -- the consumption of beef has gone considerably down in this country, and late -- in the late '90s, it went up for just a little bit. For a lot of reasons, people just aren't eating as much beef. The number one reason, Bill, you already mentioned. Saturated fat. Beef certainly has a lot of it. And as people started to link saturated fats to cardiac disease, heart attacks, things like that, people started eating less beef. Also concerns about the environment, antibiotic concerns, all sorts of different things all led to the decrease in beef consumption. But the biggest problem, really, probably has to do with how much beef we eat at any given time. Fourteen ounces of beef is a typical serving in a restaurant. You and I have gone out to eat...
HEMMER: What's wrong with that?
GUPTA: Big chunks of meat, you can see here on the table. Three to six ounces is what the recommendations are. A couple times a week, three to six ounces. If you are eating that much, you are probably getting a better -- better meal.
HEMMER: That would be the petite serving. You -- I think it is a really good thing to point out here, but is that strictly because you want to keep the cholesterol level down, the fat content down?
GUPTA: Yes. If you do what it says here on the screen, three to six ounces, eat the cuts, trim away all the other stuff, and eat it twice a week, you are going to get all the benefits of the beef without getting some of the downsides of the beef, and beef can have a lot of benefits. A lot of iron, a lot of zinc. Good stuff in there. Eat to much of it, you are going to just get the bad things.
HEMMER: See, this is the reason why I am glad you are not my doctor, because I love this stuff. I have got to tell you.
GUPTA: You can eat it. Twice a week, even.
HEMMER: Just only in moderation, you are saying.
GUPTA: Yes. Let me just point out, this is the really good meat here, the round. That's the best...
HEMMER: This one here?
GUPTA: That's right. The round is going to be the stuff that is going to give you...
HEMMER: Because?
GUPTA: ... it's the lowest fat, the leanest sort of meat. It is 143 calories only in three ounces of that. Compare that to the ground beef, which is over here. Yes, the ground beef. That's 225 calories, 13 grams of fat compared to only four in the round, so if you are eating the round, this stuff here, you're getting a better meal, fewer calories, less fat. You can eat it more often, which I know you like to do.
HEMMER: How about my filet? Where does that stack?
GUPTA: Right. Well, the filet is in part -- the round part of the meat, often times, is the filet. A lot of times they will use filets from round.
HEMMER: You are talking about meat. More to other foods. How do they compare?
GUPTA: OK. So this is interesting, actually. You compare some of these meats now to some of the other favorite foods. Chicken breasts, salmon, things like that. You can put up the screen there and look at some of the numbers. Sort of interesting. Chicken breast, 140 calories, skinless, roasted.
Compare that to the beef eye of round, only 143. Not that much difference in terms of total fat either. Three grams of fat versus four, and one versus 1.5 grams of saturated fat. So really not a big difference if you're being wise in your meat choices, and in how much meat you eat. Three ounces, three to six ounces, again, is the recommended amount of beef.
HEMMER: Wait till I let you try my teriyaki salmon. World renown.
GUPTA: I am sure it's...
HEMMER: Right, Daryn?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I got to say with both you guys, if it came -- if we let you both at the barbecue grill, this could get ugly, you know?
HEMMER: You think so?
GUPTA: No, no, not at all.
HEMMER: I think it would be quite cool, actually.
KAGAN: Two guys who take -- well, they take pride in their barbecue abilities. I smell a segment coming on. Yes.
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