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Red meat
Red meat, such as beef, pork and lamb, is an important part of a balanced diet and contains many of the nutrients essential for good health and well-being, as well as for healthy growth and development in children. Red meat and to a lesser extent chicken and fish are the best sources of easily absorbed haem iron.
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Iron |
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Zinc |
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Selenium |
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Vitamins |
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Protein |
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We all need a healthy, balanced,
nutritious diet, but certain groups of people may be more at risk of becoming
deficient of some of the important nutrients found in lean red meat.
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These
include:
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Under fives |
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Teenagers |
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Slimmers |
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Women throughout their
reproductive years |
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Elderly people |
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In recent years, meat has been produced
with considerably lower levels of fat. New butchery techniques remove
most of the fat and provide cuts of meat that are ideal for quick cooking
methods, such as microwaving, stir frying, dry frying and griddling.
FACT: Today, 100g of lean pork leg steak contains less
fat than 100g of standard cottage cheese(1).
FACT: The leanest form of pork, beef and lamb today contains
less than 10% fat, compared to at least 25% in the 1970s.
FACT: Less than half the fat in pork and beef is saturated,
and only just over half in lamb.
The role of red meat
in a balanced diet
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Lean
red meat and lower-fat meat products, when eaten with starchy carbohydrates,
fruit and vegetables, form part of a healthy, balanced diet.
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The fat content of lean
red meat has been reduced dramatically in recent years |
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Many of the important nutrients
in meat are found in the lean part, so it is possible to reduce
the fat without reducing the nutritional benefits |
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Red meat provides important
vitamins such as B vitamins and vitamin D |
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Red meat is a rich source
of minerals such as iron (see Iron )
and zinc |
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Red meat is an important
source of many types of vitamins, particularly B vitamins, and
vitamin D. In fact, red meat is now recognised as an excellent
source of vitamin D and is considered the largest natural source
of vitamin D, second only to vitamin D fortified fat spreads |
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Reference
1. Lee S et
al. Nutrient content of retail cuts of beef, pork and lamb – preliminary
results. J of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 1995; 8: 75-80
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