Consuming High-Fat and Low-Fat Ground Beef Depresses High-Density and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Concentrations, and Reduces Small, Dense Low-Density Lipoprotein Particle Abundance.

We hypothesized that consumption of high-fat (HF) ground beef (24% fat) would not affect plasma concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) or low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), whereas low-fat (LF) ground beef (5% fat) would decrease HDL-C and LDL-C concentrations. In a randomized 2-period crossover, controlled feeding trial, 25 men (mean age and body mass index, 40 years and 31.2) consumed 115-g HF or LF patties, 5/week for 5 weeks with a 4-week washout. The HF treatment increased % energy from fat ( p = 0.006) and saturated fat ( p = 0.004) and tended ( p = 0.060) to depress % energy from carbohydrates. The HF and LF treatments decreased the plasma concentrations of HDL-C ( p = 0.001) and LDL-C ( p = 0.011). Both ground beef treatments decreased the abundance of HDL 3a and increased the abundance of HDL 3 ( p ≤ 0.003); the LF treatment also decreased the abundance of HDL 2b and HDL 2a ( p ≤ 0.012). The HF and LF treatments decreased the abundance of LDL 3 and LDL 4 ( p ≤ 0.024) and the HF treatment also decreased LDL 5 ( p = 0.041). Contrary to our hypothesis, the HF treatment decreased plasma HDL-C and LDL-C concentrations despite increased saturated fat intake, and both treatments decreased the abundance of smaller, denser LDL subfractions.