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Red Meat (Nutritional Essentials)
Healthy Red Meat for The Health Conscious. |
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This page focuses on the Nutritional Essentials which red meat can offer:
Goats, lamb and beef are herbivore which are animals that get its energy from eating plants, and only plants. Herbivores are at the second level of the food chain and mainly eat plants. Herbivores are considered primary consumers and are the first consumers on the food chain. They convert plants proteins into their proteins (red meat) which closely related to that of human. Goats, lamb and beef are main source of red meat which are good foundation of the following Nutritional Essentials. Protein: Red meat has the highest source of protein. Protein is also an important component of your hair, skin, nails, organs and glands. Protein is a nutrient essential for growth and development in children, wound healing and muscle growth, repair and maintenance. Red meat is a complete and high source of protein that is easy to digest and contains all of the essential amino acids that you need for good health. During digestion, your body breaks the protein from red meat down and your cells use it to build specialized types of protein. Essential Amino Acid: Amino acids are the components that make protein. You need 22 specific amino acids to build the proteins found in most parts of your body, including muscles, red blood cells and immune cells. Because your body can only produce 13 amino acids on its own, you need to get the other nine from your diet. These nine are considered essential because you need them to maintain a healthy body. They are histidine, lysine, threonine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, valine, phenylalanine and tryptophan. Although you can get amino acids from both plant and animal as food, only animal protein contains all nine essential amino acids. B Vitamins: B vitamins are essential for health. They are important for the release of energy from food. They also contribute to the health of the blood and nervous system. Red meat contains a number of B vitamins:
Meat is naturally provide vitamin B12. For this reason, if you exclude such foods from your diet, you are at risk of having inadequate intakes. Vitamins and Other Minerals: Red meat also provides other minerals such as potassium and selenium. Selenium is an important antioxidant, which has been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. It has also recently been found to make an important contribution to vitamin D intakes. Vitamin D works with calcium and phosphorous to build strong bones and teeth. Zinc: Zinc is involved in numerous aspects of cellular metabolism. It is required for the catalytic activity of approximately 100 enzymes. Zinc plays a role in immune function, protein synthesis, wound healing, DNA synthesis, and cell division. Zinc also supports normal growth and development during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence and is required for proper sense of taste and smell. A daily intake of zinc is required to maintain a steady state because the body has no specialized zinc storage system. Meats, particularly red meats are good or excellent sources of zinc. Zinc from animal sources is generally regarded as more bio-available than zinc from vegetable sources. Carnosine: Carnosine is considered by some to be anti-aging protein. Carnosine is an amino acid compound found primarily in red meat. It is highly concentrated in muscle and brain tissues. Carnosine’s ability to provide targeted support to vital tissues in the heart, brain, and eye. Red meat contains significant amounts of carnosine. A quarter pound of beef gives you roughly as much carnosine as a 500 mg capsule. Fat: Red meat has gained a reputation of being the bad meat. It is thought to always be high in saturated fat and cholesterol, and therefore, an unhealthy food. The truth is the fat content of beef varies greatly by the cut and how it’s prepared. We do need fat for energy and healthy fats play a huge role in helping you manage your moods, stay on top of your mental game, fight fatigue, and even control your weight. The sad news fatty food taste better and we end up eating more that we should. DHA and EPA: Omega-3s fatty acids: Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) Omega-3s are necessary for human health but the body can’t make them. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and may help lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. Omega-3 fatty acids are highly concentrated in the brain and appear to be important for cognitive (brain memory and performance) and behavioral function. In fact, infants who do not get enough omega-3 fatty acids from their mothers during pregnancy are at risk for developing vision and nerve problems. Symptoms of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency include fatigue, poor memory, dry skin, heart problems, mood swings or depression, and poor circulation. The best sources of Omega-3 is red meat. Iron: Iron is a mineral you need in small but critical amounts. Its primary function in nutrition is, as a component of the hemoglobin in your blood cells, to bind the oxygen you breathe in through your lungs and transport it to the tissues throughout your body. Iron also carries oxygen to your muscles and stores it there temporarily as part of a myoglobin molecule. In addition, this mineral participates in a number of enzymatic reactions involved in detoxification, metabolism, immunity, growth and wound healing. Iron deficiency can therefore affect many essential functions in your body. Red meat is one of the best sources of dietary iron which can play a role in preventing and treating iron deficiency. A 3-ounce serving of beef contains roughly 2.5 milligrams of iron, and organ meats such as liver or beef heart offer even more. If animal-based foods are a part of your diet, including red meat in your meals helps ensure your iron stores remain at a healthy level. Women: According to Deakin Unveristy in Australia, a study of more than 1,000 women showed that completely switching to protein such as chicken and fish is not as healthy as many believe. Those who ate less than the recommended amount of lamb and beef were twice as likely to be diagnosed with the mental health disorders, researchers in Australia have found. They had originally thought that red meat might not be good for mental health, as studies from other countries had found red meat consumption to be associated with physical health risks, but it turns out that it actually may be quite important. When they looked at women consuming less than the recommended amount of red meat in the study, they found that they were twice as likely to have a diagnosed depressive or anxiety disorder as those consuming the recommended amount. Issues with Red Meat: Red meat is one of the most controversial foods in the history of nutrition. Despite the fact that humans have been consuming it since human were living in caves. Most people believe that it can cause harm and it is blamed for a number of illnesses. We believe that is not the red meat, but the profit driven producers and the mass production of red meat and its processed products are the ones that should be blamed. The raise of organic red meat is a good start for red meat as the food choice for all. |
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