The first decisive step that a person takes with growing waistline is striking hard on meat and it’s not your fault. For decades, the mainstream media and doctors have proposed that excessive consumption of meat leads to heart diseases and increased waistline. For the most part, it may be right. However, it is not the meat itself that is causing all the health problem, but aging, rising levels of cholesterol, and saturated fat that are the culprits. There are healthier ways to consume meat, which we will focus in this article. You will learn how you can eat meat every day and remain healthy. Here is some expert advice on why meat is healthy for the human body.
Watch What the Animals We Eat Ate
It’s true “You are what you eat”, in this case, the feed that the cattle are fed. The meat was a large part of the diet of our ancestors; however, the meat they ate came from animals that grazed on wild plants and grass, nothing like the feed (grains and bits of other animals) provided to cattle raised on an industrial scale.
A significant portion of this meat is fat and mainly saturated fat. Animals that eat wild plants and native diet have a higher content of polyunsaturated fat; this fat is good for the body and prevents chronic diseases related to the heart and the brain. Studies have also found that wild salmon have much higher nutrition value than farmed salmon with a very high amount of omega-3 fatty acid – a tonic for the human body. Hence, it’s not the meat you need to watch out for, it’s the type of meat you are consuming and what the animals are fed.
Reduce Methionine & Eat Wholesome Meat
Unlike today, where we like a particular part of the animal and consume that specifically. The early human ate a treasure of organs. Different part of the animal contains various nutrients, and the organs are highly abundant in micronutrients such as iron, vitamin A, and vitamin B, especially the liver.
Muscle meat is also high in amino acid methionine. Methionine is not beneficial for the body. Furthermore, studies have shown that eating less methionine can improve health and extend the life of an individual.
Therefore, including the organs and various parts of the animals in your diet instead of focusing on the muscles can’t only limit the amount of methionine you put into the body but also ensure that you get a wide variety of nutrient from the meat.
High Quantity of Iron in the Meat
Iron content in red meat is specifically high. Iron is essential for the body and vital for binding hemoglobin in the blood. It also plays a pivotal role in delivering oxygen to the tissues in various parts of the body. However, if the iron is present in the body in high quantity, it can also cause problems, specifically for men. During mensuration, women can release the excess iron with the blood, but men don’t have mensuration or any other way to remove the iron from the body.
Too much iron in the blood can cause iron toxicity. Although this is normal for most people, if you suffer from a disorder called hereditary hemochromatosis, it can be a situation of concern. As red meat is high in iron, mixing it with other types of meat should help you avoid the problem.
High-Heat Meat Cooking
Cooking meat at high temperature also has potential dangers for the body. Few of the high-heat cooking methods are grilling, deep-frying, and broiling. Cooking meat on high heat can release unhealthy compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heterocyclic amines (HAs), and advanced glycation end products (AGEs).
These compounds form in the meat when nutrients react to each other in high temperature. These compounds are linked with causing various types of cancer in the body. A simple way to avoid consuming these harmful compound is to limit the amount of charred and smoked meat you consume. Natural ingredients such as lemon, garlic, olive oil and red wine are known to reduce the effects of HCAs. Use gentler cooking methods.
Consume Healthy Meat
Although consuming red meat every once in a while is not of much concern, there are healthier meat options you should consider. Poultry and fish are much more robust and contain relatively less fat compared to red meat. When consuming poultry, don’t eat the skin as it’s the fattest. Fish is particularly healthy; they are easier to digest and contain some of the best nutrients for the body such as the omega-3 fatty acid.
With these tips, I hope you can enjoy meat while on a healthy diet. It is not necessarily the meat that causes health problems but the type of meat we consume. Trimming the fat from the meat should be a common practice you follow, it will have a significant good effect on your health.
About the author
Nicolas is a writer for Lima-France an industry leader in developing and manufacturing food machines.
