Healthy People, Healthy Planet: Is There a Healthy Way to Eat Red Meat?
added 10/23/09
Our personal health and the health of our planet are critical components of our well-being. Decisions made in the Co-op aisles can have lasting effects on both. From packaging to production, ingredients to meal planning, food choices are an everyday way to make a change for the better. Through this series, “Healthy People, Healthy Planet,” Co-op Dietitian Mary Choate and Sustainability Coordinator Emily Neuman offer their insights on how to choose wisely, for personal and planetary health, as you shop for food. Drawing upon the latest science, common sense, and practical experience, they hope to bring some clarity to the often-challenging subject of “what to eat.”
by Mary Saucier Choate, M.S., R.D., L.D.
Co-op Food and Nutrition Educator
“Red meat” is a term that is surrounded by health questions: How much is too much? Is grass-fed healthier than commercially grown? Is there is any way to include meat in a healthful diet, or do you have to go totally vegetarian? Are pork and lamb considered “red meat?”
Pork, veal, lamb, and beef are considered “red meat.” A diet that’s too high in meat may put you at higher risk for heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases. Filling up on red meat leaves little room for the four and a half cups of fruits and vegetables that we need to eat for good health every day.
National health organization diet guidelines do not exclude meat. They do recommend limiting animal protein in portion size and frequency, and increasing the fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains in your diet. If lean choices are made, beef can add needed iron, zinc, selenium, vitamins B6 and B12, and protein without a lot of extra fat.
The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends a weekly limit of no more than 18 ounces of cooked red meat, a little more than one pound. Limiting the portion size to three ounces, cooked, is an effective way to keep to this limit. Three ounces of cooked beef is the size of an IPod or deck of cards. It weighs four ounces before cooking.
Is Grass-fed Beef Healthier than Commercial Beef?
The benefits of grass-fed beef can be numerous for farmers, the environment, humane treatment of livestock, and, many feel, the flavor. These are important reasons to choose it. The actual nutritional benefits of grass-fed beef are more ambiguous.
One clear benefit is that the saturated fat content appears to be reduced in grass-fed beef. For example, a three-ounce portion of 95 percent lean grass-fed beef would contain 1.1 grams vs. 2.4 grams in grain-fed beef. This reduced saturated fat content can help to keep your saturated fat intake below the recommended limit of 20 grams a day.
Many websites publicize the measurably higher omega-3 fatty acid levels in grass-fed beef compared with commercially raised beef. Omega-3’s have been associated with a significantly lower risk of cardiac arrest and death from heart attack. A three-ounce cooked portion of grass-fed, 95 percent lean beef contains 0.06 grams of omega-3s; grain-fed beef contains 0.04 grams. This means there is 50 percent more omega-3s in the grass fed beef. It sounds like an important difference, but neither amount is meaningful when you realize that the American Heart Association recommendation is one gram of omega-3 fatty acids per day. Salmon provides one gram of omega-3 fatty acids in a three-ounce portion. It would take over three and a half pounds of beef to get the same intake of omega-3s.
Grass-fed beef is also touted to be a rich source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Early research shows that CLA may have cancer-fighting, heart-protective, anti-diabetes, and other healthful properties. Again, it’s the portion size that is problematic. Human studies of CLA use diets containing a minimum of one to seven grams per day. To obtain even one gram of CLA from grass-fed beef, one would have to eat four pounds.
Grass-fed beef has the nutritional edge over commercially raised because of its reduced saturated fat content. Either type of beef, however, can be part of a healthful diet when the total intake is within the recommended limits. Healthful eating doesn’t mean you have to give up this nutritious food.
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