PRAHRAN, Australia--The next time the grill is fired up, toss on a tofu burger--your heart will thank you. In the December issue of The Journal of the American College of Nutrition (19: 761-7, 2000), researchers found that replacing lean red meat with tofu may decrease the risk for heart disease.
In a two-month, randomized, cross-over study, 45 males between the ages of 35 and 62 consumed protein in the form of 150 g of lean meat per day for 30 days. The next month, the subjects replaced their meat consumption with 290 g of tofu per day. Weekly analyses found that the diets contained similar amounts of energy, protein, carbohydrate, total fat, alcohol and fiber. However, researchers led by Emma Ashton from Australia's Deakin University, found that total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly lower during the tofu diet. In addition, LDL ("bad" cholesterol) oxidation decreased while eating tofu as compared to lean meat; oxidation causes arterial plaque build-up and an increased risk for heart disease.
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