Is Red Meat Okay to Eat?
Red meat gets a bad rap for being an unhealthy protein source that increases your risk of heart disease, prompting many individuals to remove it from their diet altogether. While eating red meat in high quantities on a daily basis is not the healthiest option, it does not necessarily need to be removed entirely from the diet. Below are a few benefits of red meat and ways in which it can eaten in a healthy manner that will have you considering adding it back to your diet in moderation.
Portion Control
The average adult should strive to have between 5-6 ounces of meat in their diet per day. However, eating red meat it is often served as an oversized steak or hamburger, which is well over your daily serving of meat (let alone your protein, calorie, fat, or cholesterol serving size per meal). While indulging on occasion is okay, it is not a good daily habit. If you are going to indulge in a larger portion of your favorite red meat, ensure that the rest of your daily diet is on the healthier side.
Lean Red Meat
Recent studies have found that if you opt for a lean red meat that has less than 10 g of fat, no more than 4.5 g of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg of cholesterol fat per serving, then it is no different than eating lean poultry meat like chicken or turkey. Lean red meat will also give you the substantial vitamins and nutrients you require such as iron, zinc, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12.
Processed Red Meat
Another thought to keep in mind when eating red meat is that processed red meat, often found at a fast food restaurants, is vastly different from the red meat available in a grocery store’s meat department. The difference is so drastic that unprocessed red meat can be eaten up to 100 grams per day, (approximately the size of the deck of cards) compared to only 50 g per day if it’s been processed.
Easy Ways to Reduce Your Red Meat Consumption
If you are a red meat lover looking for ways to reduce your red meat consumption, or swap some of your red meat for other protein sources without sacrificing the recipes you enjoy, then consider some of the ideas below:
Ground Turkey: Lean ground turkey is an excellent alternative for any type of recipe that asks for ground beef. This can be anything from meatloaf, burgers, pastas, or packed peppers.
Seafood: Your favored shrimp as well as seafood can be exchanged in most of your preferred recipes. This could include foods such as kebabs, soups, stews, and also mix fry.
Meatless Healthy protein: Meatless protein is not simply for vegetarians and also vegans, in fact there are several meatless protein dish concepts that are surprisingly savory. These meals might vary from eggplant parmesan, a Portobello mushroom hamburger, to a passionate but meatless three-bean soup.
By making use of the tips over you can reintroduce red meat into your diet, even in small amounts on a daily basis. When you want to spend lavishly and also consume your red meat over, you can select meatless protein choices the remainder of the day, or eat various other lean meats.