Your heart is a muscle that requires a continuous flow of oxygen and other nutrients to work effectively. When you have excess cholesterol and fats in your blood, these products form hard plaques that narrow the diameter of your coronary arteries and deprive the heart muscle of the nutrients it needs. Although your liver and other body cells produce about ¾ of your total cholesterol, the rest comes from red meat and other animal foods in your diet.
The Basics
Cholesterol is a wax-like product that doesn't dissolve well in your blood, so it hitches a ride on carriers known as lipoproteins. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is the "bad" cholesterol, while high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is the "good" form of cholesterol. Burgers, red meat and other animal products contain saturated fat and cholesterol that elevate your LDL level and increase your risk of developing coronary heart disease.
Professional Recommendations
In 2001, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute established a therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) diet to help Americans control their blood cholesterol levels and reduce their risk of heart disease. These guidelines recommend limiting your dietary cholesterol to less than 200 mg a day, reducing daily fat intake to between 25 and 35 percent of your total calorie requirements and restricting saturated fats to less than 7 percent of those calories. For a 2,000-calorie diet, the total fat intake limit of 25 to 35 percent equals 500 to 700 calories. Saturated fats should be less than 7 percent of those calories, or less than 35 to 49 calories. At 9 calories per gram of saturated fat, you must limit your saturated fat intake to somewhere between 5 and 5.4 g of saturated fat a day, to stay within the TLC guidelines.
Fat and Cholesterol Content
Burgers vary significantly in their saturated fat content, but their cholesterol level is fairly consistent. A pan-broiled 3-oz. patty of 70 percent lean meat contains 5.3 g of saturated fat and 66 mg of cholesterol, for example, but a pan-broiled 3-oz. burger made from 95 percent lean meat delivers 2.3 g of saturated fat and 65 mg of cholesterol. The 66 mg of cholesterol isn't too bad when compared with TLC guidelines, but a single burger made with the 70 percent lean meat represents your daily allotment of saturated fat.
Considerations
While an occasional burger won't give you heart disease, eating burgers or other red meat on a regular basis can increase your risk significantly. Remember that a 3-oz. serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards. Choose lean cuts of ground beef and select heart-healthy cooking methods such as grilling, broiling or baking. Resist the urge to order fatty side dishes at fast food restaurants. One large serving of French fries, for example, contributes 487 calories, 3.2 g of saturated fat and 0.2 g of trans fatty acids to your diet. Look for healthier alternatives such as a baked potato, mixed green salad or fresh fruit.
References
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Coronary Heart Disease Explained
- American Heart Association: LDL and HDL Cholesterol: What's Bad and What's Good?
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) Executive Summary
- USDA: National Nutrient Database
