Joe Rogan and other advocates of the carnivore diet are quick to highlight the benefits of consuming only meat, and it’s undeniable that this diet offers a substantial amount of protein. For example, six ounces of cooked chicken breast contain over 54 grams of protein, exceeding the daily protein needs of most individuals. Along with the protein, you’re also getting B vitamins, potassium, zinc, and about 54 milligrams of magnesium.
However, hardcore carnivore dieters often go beyond muscle meat and suggest consuming organ meats, which are usually richer in nutrients. If you ever find “sweetbreads” on an appetizer menu, don’t be misled. They aren’t sugary or bread-like. Sweetbreads are actually organ meats derived from the thymus gland of young lamb, beef, or veal.
Nutritionally, sweetbreads stand out. Six ounces of cooked lamb sweetbreads offer about 36 grams of protein and 43 milligrams of magnesium. But one component you might not expect in organ meats is cholesterol. The same serving contains a substantial 786 milligrams of it.
How cholesterol and fats in sweetbreads affect blood cholesterol
If the cholesterol content in sweetbreads surprises you, it’s crucial to understand the link between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol. For many years, scientists believed that dietary cholesterol directly increased blood cholesterol levels. However, as research advanced, the understanding became more nuanced.
Researchers discovered that foods like shellfish and eggs — both high in cholesterol but low in saturated fat — had minimal impact on blood cholesterol. This led to the conclusion that saturated fat, rather than dietary cholesterol, plays a more significant role in increasing blood cholesterol, as per a 2019 study in Nutrients. A 3-ounce serving of lamb sweetbreads contains about 2 grams of saturated fat, while the same amount of beef sweetbreads contains 10.6 grams.
Nevertheless, not all saturated fats affect cholesterol in the same way. According to a 2010 article in Current Atherosclerosis Reports, stearic acid has little to no effect on blood cholesterol, whereas lauric acid has the strongest cholesterol-raising effect. In lamb sweetbreads, approximately 44% of the saturated fat is stearic acid. In beef sweetbreads, it’s about 43%. Lauric acid accounts for less than 1% of the total saturated fat in both types.
Palmitic acid, another type of saturated fat, is known to increase LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. It makes up about 43% of the saturated fat in lamb sweetbreads and 46% in beef sweetbreads. Palmitic acid’s influence on blood cholesterol is generally more pronounced when paired with a high-calorie, high-cholesterol diet.
Should you eat sweetbreads?
You might have heard that sweetbreads contain more vitamins and minerals than muscle meat, but that’s not necessarily true. Beef roast has more iron, selenium, zinc, and certain B vitamins than both beef and lamb sweetbreads. While sweetbreads do contain some omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, they have less than beef roast. One monounsaturated fat present in all three meats is oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid also found in olive oil. Oleic acid may help lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and reduce inflammation (per NetMeds).
Individuals with gout or frequent kidney stones might want to avoid sweetbreads and other organ meats because they are high in purines. When your body metabolizes purines, uric acid is produced. Consuming purine-rich foods can lead to a buildup of uric acid in the body. Excess uric acid can form crystals in the blood that settle in the joints, causing painful gout flare-ups (here are foods to eat and avoid for gout). These crystals can also accumulate in the kidneys, forming uric acid kidney stones.
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