List of the Leanest Meats

Are you looking to improve your health? One way to do so would be to switch to leaner cuts of meat. Knowing which ones are considered lean is very important for that reason. This will depend on which type of meat you are purchasing. A general rule though is the round and loin cuts of pork and beef are the leanest.

Eating lean meat is very important if you are trying to keep your cholesterol level under control. The American Heart Association recommends that those who have high LDL cholesterol, coronary heart disease or coronary heart disease keep their saturated fat to less than 7-percent of their total caloric intake. Before you can do this, you must know what "extra lean" and "lean" mean according to government guidelines.

"Extra lean" means the meat has two grams or less of saturated fat. To receive this designation, the meat must also contain less than five grams of total fat and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol. To receive a "lean" designation, the meat must contain less than ten grams of total fat. It must also have less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol and 4.5 grams or less saturated fat.

Beef

Top sirloin-extra lean

Top round-lean

Tenderloin-lean

Flank-lean

Eye round-lean 

95-percent lean ground beef-lean

Pork

Boneless top loin chop-extra lean

Boneless sirloin chop-lean

Tenderloin-lean

boneless top loin roast-lean

Sirloin roast-lean

Poultry

Turkey breast-extra lean

Chicken breast-extra lean

Turkey leg-extra lean

Lean ground turkey-lean

Chicken legs-lean

Turkey thighs-lean

These classifications are based on a 3.5 ounce or 100 gram serving size. As you can see, limiting yourself to lean meat will not be difficult. With a wide variety of meats to choose from, you can eat something different every night and still lower your cholesterol.