[This article is part of an ongoing series on The How and Why of Eating Healthy. Read the whole series to date.]
It’s clear that those in Mediterranean cultures consume less meat and eat leaner meats than those in Western cultures. Diet studies reveal that they consume an average of 4 ounces or less of meat each day, so a lot of prospective research has been undertaken to focus on the effect of consuming less meat.
In one study, a group consuming less lean beef or pork as part of a lower fat diet showed improvements in cholesterol profiles similar to those who ate fish and chicken instead. This appears to be result of the negative effect that foods higher in saturated fat have on cholesterol profiles. The Mediterranean Diet: Meat
