Meat and Healthy eating

Your Health Guide

Health Guide addresses health issues and related subjects - healthy eating, exercises, etc.

There is little doubt about it's tastiness and succulence, but the nutritional value of red meat is less well known.

The established association between dietary fat and coronary heart disease certainly justifies limiting the proportion of fat contributing to the daily requirements. The Prudent Dietary Guidelines suggest that fat should not provide more than 30% and preferably far lessthan the daily energy intake. Saturated fats should contribute no more than 10% of the total fat intake.

The fat in red meat is, like most fats in nature, a combination of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in varying amounts. Although red meat contains fat, a large proportion of this fat is visible and can be trimmed off without difficulty, and less than 50% of this fat is saturated fat.

The inclusion of lean red meat into diets is not only acceptable, but also desirable in view of the excellent range of nutrients they supply:

* Meat provides a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids which are needed by the body for growth and development.

* 100g of cooked lean beef will supply 100% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B12, a vitamin which is unavailable from plant sources.

* Red meat is an excellent source of the B-complex vitamins: thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine and vitamin B12, which act as co - enzymes involved in metabolic pathways in the body.

* Red meat contains significant amounts of iron, zinc and copper in their readily absorbable form.


	Home Your Health Guide Meat and Healthy eating Your Health Guide Health Guide addresses health issues and related subjects - healthy eating, exercises, etc. There is little doubt about it's tastiness and succulence, but the nutritional value of red meat is less well known. The established association between dietary fat and coronary heart disease certainly justifies limiting the proportion of fat contributing to the daily requirements. The Prudent Dietary Guidelines suggest that fat should not provide more than 30% and preferably far lessthan the daily energy intake. Saturated fats should contribute no more than 10% of the total fat intake. The fat in red meat is, like most fats in nature, a combination of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in varying amounts. Although red meat contains fat, a large proportion of this fat is visible and can be trimmed off without difficulty, and less than 50% of this fat is saturated fat. The inclusion of lean red meat into diets is not only acceptable, but also desirable in view of the excellent range of nutrients they supply: * Meat provides a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids which are needed by the body for growth and development. * 100g of cooked lean beef will supply 100% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B12, a vitamin which is unavailable from plant sources. * Red meat is an excellent source of the B-complex vitamins: thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine and vitamin B12, which act as co - enzymes involved in metabolic pathways in the body. * Red meat contains significant amounts of iron, zinc and copper in their readily absorbable form.