A Heart Healthy Choice
Health Check
Beef can be a lean choice. Choosing leaner meats (such as lean and extra lean beef) is part of healthy eating. And there are lots of popular beef cuts and ground beef to choose from! Eight cuts of beef plus Lean and Extra Lean Ground Beef, Ground Beef Sirloin, Chuck and Round qualify for Health CheckTM – an educational program helping Canadians make healthy choices.
Foods qualifying for the Health CheckTM program meet specific nutritional standards set by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Health CheckTM Qualified Beef
Nutrition information based on beef trimmed of external fat (0-inch trim) |
Lean Beef Choices
(100 grams raw meat) |
Fat
(grams) |
| Eye of Round |
5 |
| Inside Round |
5 |
| Sirloin Tip |
5 |
| Top Sirloin |
6 |
| Strip Loin |
8 |
| Flank |
8 |
| Cross Rib |
9 |
| Outside Round |
9 |
| Extra Lean Ground Sirloin or Round |
10 |
| Extra Lean Ground Beef |
10 |
| Lean Ground Sirloin, Round or Chuck |
15 |
| Lean Ground Beef |
15 |
Not all freshly packaged lean beef cuts and ground beef will be labeled with the Health CheckTM symbol; but, if you are choosing beef from the list above, they all qualify as a lean, Health CheckTM choice.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation's registered dietitians have reviewed Lean and Extra Lean Beef cuts and ground beef to ensure they meet the specific nutrient criteria developed by the Health CheckTM program based on the recommendations in Canada's Food Guide. A fee is paid by each participating company to help cover the cost of this voluntary, not-for-profit program. See www.healthcheck.org.
Good To Know
Recent research has shown that lean beef can be included in effective cholesterol-lowering diets. Studies suggest that lower fat diets that include lean beef are just as effective in lowering total blood cholesterol as lower fat diets that include chicken or fish.1
1 Davidson MH, et al. Arch Internal Med. 1999; 159: 1331-1338.