Texas A&M researchers say beef brisket has health benefits As if you need another reason to eat more Texas brisket



Click through the slideshow to learn all the brisket lingo you need to know. A Texas A&M professor's research shows beef brisket is high in oleic acid, which regulates good and bad cholesterol.

Click through the slideshow to learn all the brisket lingo you need to know. A Texas A&M professor's research shows beef brisket is high in oleic acid, which regulates good and bad cholesterol. Photo: Dave Rossman, Freelance Photo: Dave Rossman, Freelance Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Texas A&M researchers say beef brisket has health benefits 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

If you live in Texas, you probably don't need another reason to eat more beef brisket, but researchers at Texas A&M just gave you one: it's healthy.

Brisket has a high level of oleic acid which regulates cholesterol levels, according to Dr. Stephen Smith, a professor in the animal science department at Texas A&M.

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Oleic acid is an omega-9 fatty acid which helps reduce the risk of heart disease by raising your levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), known as "good" cholesterol. Oleic acid also has the added benefit of lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL), known as "bad" cholesterol.

That acid, according to Smith, is also found in canola oil and olive oil. The professor told AgriLife Today that "Ground beef is not going to kill you. When you take the beef out of fat, it reduces LDL, but also reduces HDL. Our studies have shown that fat is a very important component of beef."

So there you have it: eat more brisket for your health this Labor Day weekend.