Cholesterol Study
Central Washington University published a Beefalo Study in 1994 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association where a group of men with elevated cholesterol levels ate 8 ounces of ground meat per day for eight weeks. Half of the men consumed beefalo meat for the first four weeks and the other half of the group ate "low-fat" ground beef available from grocery stores. During the final four weeks of the study, the meats were switched for each group. No one in the study knew which meat they were eating. The participants' blood was tested several times during the study.The study found that the LDL levels of cholesterol (bad cholesterol) rose an average of 6% after eating beef for 4 weeks.The LDL levels dropped an average of 3% after participants ate beefalo for 4 weeks. Oddly enough, the beefalo meat used in the study had 13% fat (which is more fat than normally found in beefalo meat) and the ground beef used in the study had 12% fat (which is less fat than normally found in ground beef). The participants also ranked the two different meats based on juiciness, flavor, tenderness, color and preference. In all cases, the beefalo meat ranked higher and was more favorably preferred to the beef. Given the results of this and many other studies, it appears that beefalo is a great choice for health-conscious individuals.
The following information table was compiled by the following sources:
1. Canadian nutrient file, 1983 and/or Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods, 1979
2. Calories and total fat from Agriculture Canada Study 1984
3. Beefalo Meat Test, University of Guelph, December 5, 1985