Replacing Meat with Tofu May Reduce Heart Disease Risk

Replacing Meat with Tofu May ReduceHeart Disease Risk

PRAHRAN, Australia--In the December issue of The Journal ofthe American College of Nutrition (19: 761-7, 2000), researchers found thatreplacing 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 35and 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 tofuper day. Weekly analyses found that the diets contained similar amounts ofenergy, protein, carbohydrate, total fat, alcohol and fiber. However,researchers led by Emma Ashton from Australia's Deakin University found thatparticipants' total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly lowerduring the tofu diet. In addition, LDL ("bad" cholesterol) oxidationdecreased while eating tofu as compared to lean meat; oxidation causes arterialplaque build-up and an increased risk for heart disease. For additionalinformation, visit www.am-coll-nutr.org/jacn/jacn.htm.