Red Meat: Friend or Foe?

No matter your involvement in the health and fitness field, I'm willing to bet that at some point in your life you've heard that red meat does nasty things to your body.  It has been claimed to increase mortality rate in all sorts of ways, including increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.  Those are some pretty hefty claims, all due to the good ol' moo cow.  But let's look at this a little more closely, and try to shed a light on red meat.  You may be surprised to discover that it's not the killer it's been made out to be.

Firstly, I know there have been many studies done on the correlation between red meat and increased mortality.  But every study I come across doesn't quite hold up to the claim that red meat is the actual reason the test subjects died an early death.  In fact, it's virtually impossible to prove that red meat is the reason for premature mortality.  Sure, it's associated.  But hey, if most of those test subjects were on the average American diet of fatty meat and high carb-loaded, chemical packed, sugary junk, then don't you think the latter might have had a bit to do with it?  And what about genetics?  There are just too many factors to blame it all on red meat.  Don't get me wrong, there's some bad red meat out there, but is all red meat inherently dangerous?  Heck no.  Let's look at what makes up the difference between healthy red meat, and the nasty crap.

First thing you should know.  When you eat an animal, you eat parts of what that animal has ingested.  You're getting a little taste of its diet history, and that may be good, or bad.  If you're eating venison, I wouldn't worry too much, as deer tend to have about the cleanest diets going.  If you're eating a cheap cut of beef though, I'd be a little wary, as most of the cheap stuff was fed feed corn and antibiotics on a daily basis in order to make the cows as big, meaty, and profitable as possible.  When fed corn, the cow puts on a lot of excess fat, which marbles (or interlaces) with the actual muscle, making the cuts absolutely delicious, but packed with saturated fat.  The antibiotics most cattle are given have two distinct purposes: First, they prevent the herd from contracting common diseases, and destroying profit.  Second, smaller doses actually cause the animal to gain weight, which INCREASES profit the farmer obtains at slaughter.  Cows are also given growth hormones which...well...cause growth.  All this equates to more meat and more money.

Unfortunately for us, these chemicals remain in the cuts of meat when we consume them, and they don't do our bodies any favor.  And THAT, my friend, is why red meat is bad for you.  There isn't any curse in the meat itself which causes health problems.  In fact, apart from the chemicals, red meat is actually very, very nutritious.

Protein:  Red meat is packed with protein, and has always been a favorite of the muscle building crowd.  In fact, lean ground beef is one of the most useful muscle building tools going.  A little less than a quarter pound of lean beef has about 25 grams of protein, which is pretty darn awesome.  Not to mention it's delicious, cheap, and readily available at almost any grocery store.  And to top it all off, the protein in red meat is very bioavailable, meaning your body can readily use that protein to rebuild muscle fibers with a high degree of efficiency.  Neat!

Vitamins and Minerals:  Surprisingly, red meat has a ton of vitamins and minerals that your body will love you for consuming.  It's extremely rich in B vitamins, and provides about 70% of the required value of B-12 in 100 grams.  It's also very rich in vitamin B-6, vitamin A, riboflavin, and niacin.  Red meat is also one of the best sources out there for both zinc and iron, and will provide about a quarter of the daily recommended value per serving.  Red meat is also extremely rich in selenium, providing about a fifth of the daily recommended value in one 100 gram helping.

Antioxidants:  That's right, red meat has antioxidants!  Actually, it's got a whole bunch, including generous amounts of glutathione, lipoic acid, carsonine, and anserine.  These substances have been proven to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels, act as "anti-aging" compounds, and help maintain healthy metabolic rate.

Fat:  Now you may think you know what's coming here, but prepare to be surprised.  Red meat doesn't just have saturated fat, in fact the majority of the fat in red meat is monounsaturated, and is of the same chemical construction as the healthy fats in olive oil.  It will lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise (HDL) cholesterol. The majority of the saturated fat in red meat is stearic acid, which will increase good cholesterol, but have no effect on bad cholesterol, resulting in only a small deficit in the "bad" direction.  The rest of the fat in red meat is polyunsaturated, and will lower bad cholesterol, and have no effect on good cholesterol.  All in all, about 70% of the fat in red meat is beneficial toward your desired cholesterol ratio.  Doesn't sound so bad, right?  Definitely not as bad as it's been made out to be.

So the real question is, how do you get all these health benefits without all the nasty hormones and fat associated with cheap cuts of beef?  What you need to look for in the grocery store is GRASS FED BEEF. Ground, grass fed lean beef is very low in unhealthy fats, packed with protein, and basically eliminates most of the marbled fat that exists within the meat itself.  Grass is a much healthier alternative for the cows, and by eating it the cows retain much less fat overall and build higher quality muscle.  The same can be said for pork, and you should look for grass fed, or pasture raised varities.  This will virtually ensure that the animal was healthier, and carrying less fat at the time of slaughter.

But wait, even if you choose a nice cut of grass fed meat, you're not out of the woods yet.  You should also make sure you look on the label for something like "no hormones" or "no antibiotics," to ensure you're getting meat WITHOUT all the nasty chemicals.  This will provide you with a healthy and fantastically delicious dinner which will definitely help you build some muscle and trim the fat.  Just be smart about your purchase, read the labels, know your red meat.

Here's a link to the FDA's list of labels that can be placed on food, and what you should look for depending on your goals:http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Meat_&_Poultry_Labeling_Terms/index.asp

Still scared of the myths you've heard about huge caloric content?  Let me brush that nonsense aside right now:

This is for lean, ground, grass fed beef.  Not bad at all.  I could fit that into so many diets I couldn't even come close to counting them all.  Don't be scared of red meat.

Hmmm...maybe I shouldn't have put this picture in...a little too cute...

Bottom line:  Red meat isn't inherently bad for you, and is in fact quite healthy in its natural state.  Don't be scared to eat it, and pay no attention to all the haters of red meat and all its glory.

Enjoy your food, love red meat, and as always, GOOD LUCK!


References:
http://www.eatthefatoftheland.com/red-meat.html
http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalsusedforfood/f/AntibioticsrGBH.htm
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-red-meat

Food Worship #6: The Red Beet

I'm always looking for something new to put in my salad, and recently I've discovered the magically little root vegetable known as the red beet, or just plain "beet" for short.  Maybe you've seen them, and had to look twice because of their crazy red/purple hue.  Woah man, it's purple!  But seriously, these little guys are absolutely delicious, and positively packed with nutrients.  In fact they have quite a few nutrients in high quantity that you'd be hard pressed to find in almost any other veggie.

What I find most amazing about the beet though, is how naturally sweet it is for a vegetable!  These things have a pretty hefty sugar content for being in the veggie family, but believe me don't let that fact steer you away from consuming these wondrous sweet little treats daily. It's all natural sugar that most likely will not sabotage your diet like the processed stuff might.  I say "most likely" because it's possible to go overboard with pretty much any food, even fruits and vegetables.  But believe me, if you eat a normal portion of beets daily, you've got nothing to worry about.  That's great news, considering the awesome flavor kick they give, and the delicious texture they have when they're boiled.  

But what about these infamous health benefits I've hinted about?  Are beets really that nutritionally valuable?  Let's examine why you should definitely give these purple wonders a try in a meal of yours:

Antioxidants:  You may have noticed a trend by now that darker colored fruits and vegetables tend to be pretty rich with a blend of healthy antioxidants.  Beets are no exception, and have a whole host of these healthful substances hidden inside.  But what's surprising is that the particular antioxidants found in beets aren't found in huge quantity in any other common vegetable.  Instead of the common beta-carotene, beets have large amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin. Crazy names, yes, but extremely useful substances.  They help to maintain eye and skin health, and because they're hard to find in large quantities in most other foods, having beets once in a while would definitely be to your advantage.  

Beets are also rich in the antioxidant betalain, which is also the substance that helps give them their rich red/purple color.  These antioxidants help with general cell function in your body, and also may help prevent diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis.  

As I've said before, this blend of antioxidants in beets really is unique in a sense, and makes the beet a very desirable vegetable in any diet.  Here's a quote from whfoods.com that puts it into better perspective:  

"While research is largely in the early stage with respect to beet antioxidants and their special benefits for eye health and overall nerve tissue health, we expect to see study results showing these special benefits and recognizing beets as a standout vegetable in this area of antioxidant support."

Vitamins:  I bet you saw this one coming.  Beets are loaded with all sorts of vitamins and minerals!  They are extremely rich in Vitamin C (you need a whole bunch of Vit. C this time of year, or you're going to be suffering from runny noses and coughs), and Vitamin A.  They also have a large quantity of the minerals iron, calcium, folic acid, niacin, biotin, and manganese.  In fact, here's a list of some of the nutritional information about beets, and the most densely packed vitamins and minerals they contain:

Nutritive Values : Per 100 gm.

• Vitamin A : 20 I.U.
• Thiamine : .02 mg
• Riboflavin : .05 mg
• Niacin : .4 mg
• Vitamin C : 10 mg.
• Calcium : 27 mg.
• Iron : 1.0 mg.
• Phosphorus : 43 mg.
• Fat : .1 gm.
• Carbohydrates : 9.6 gm.
• Protein : 1.6 gm.
• Calories : 42

Low Fat:  This one seems like a no brainer, but is still definitely worth mentioning.  Beets are extremely low in fat, and are virtually free of ALL saturated fats.  That means that any fat that is there (though you'd be hard pressed to find much at all), is heart healthy unsaturated fat.  Win-win situation!

Low Calorie Salad Topper:  What I really love about beets though, is their flavor.  I implore you to give them a chance, because they really are a sweet, low calorie salad component that could easily make that boring old salad of yours suddenly alive and tasty as heck.  In fact, boiled, chilled beets are so juicy and delicious that I bet you'll be fine content with no other salad dressing than the red beet's delicious juices.  It'll add a whole new health factor to your salad, and may even help you to take away some of that processed salad dressing.  

How low calorie are they?  Well, half a cup of delicious red beets is less than 40 calories, and every single calorie that is there is a quality calorie packed with nutrients and other health promoting substances.  Don't ever stress about eating beets!  

There it is!  A whole nutritional profile of a vegetable that isn't quite as common in mainstream society today, but definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY is worth trying in your diet.  I bet you'll like the flavor, the soft texture, and the awesome purple hue!  I mean how cool is it to have a food that's like, PURPLE!  Anyways, enough immaturity.  Beets are awesome.  Try some. Today. Please.

Keep eating the good stuff, make that salad interesting, and as always, good luck!

Venison: Lean, Healthy and Delicious!

It's that time of year, time to eat something a little more organic!

I bet there's a lot of you that have never tried venison.  Some of you might not even really know what it is, BUT WAIT, I'll tell you before you go running off to google.  Venison is deer meat, most commonly from white-tailed deer.  It's a great alternative to boring old beef and chicken, and boy is it lean!  Hunters bag over 6 million white tailed deer per year, so if you're willing to look a little bit, there's plenty of venison out there for you to try it!

Why is Venison so lean?  Well, deer are extremely active animals, with very herbaceous diets. They're constantly darting from field to field, and never accumulate a caloric excess to the point that would allow them to gain large amounts of fat.  All that running packs some pretty dense muscle on their bones as well, so when these two facts are combined it's easy to see that Venison could quite possibly be one of the leanest sources of land-based protein.  

For example, let's compare.  

1 oz of Venison has 46 calories, .3g saturated fat, and 9.8g of protein.

1 oz of lean, broiled steak has 55 calories, .7g saturated fat, and 8.5g protein.

1 oz of a lower quality cut of steak has 90 calories, 2.5g saturated fat, and 8g protein

Excuse my inconsistent significant figures

Even the leanest beef can't compare to an ounce of natural, organic Venison.  To bring this point home, 4oz of Venison on average has around 180 calories and 35g of protein.  4oz of an AVERAGE CUT OF 70/30 BEEF has 350 calories and 20 grams of protein.  The clear winner? Venison.

And as I mentioned above, Venison is Organic!  Most farm raised animals have been fed some sort of steroid of hormone in order to increase their muscle mass (or possibly just their size in general).  Bigger muscles= more meat= more money for the farmers.  I'm not going to harp on farmers for their techniques, it's easy to see why this is done, and for the most part it's not a huge deal. But these injected meats definitely are NOT as healthy to consume as their organic counterparts, and it's hard to get more organic than Venison.  

Venison is also packed full of vitamins and other nutrients, like Vitamin B (and all it's counterparts), D, E, magnesium, manganese, zinc, omega 3 fatty acids, Copper, and Potassium.  It even has a good serving a folate in it.  This meat is packed with health benefits!

Unfortunately, Venison isn't quite as "consistent" a meat as say, beef or chicken.  What I mean by this is that the toughness and taste of the meat varies greatly depending on how the animal was taken.  Here's a quote I found from another website stating a few factors that can cause Venison to lose some of it's taste or tenderness:

"Young animals are generally tender by nature, and require little, or no aging to ensure tenderness. However, if the deer runs a great distance between wounding and death, there's a good chance it will expend all its glycogen reserves. When this happens, the pH level of the meat increases, speeding bacterial growth."

So there's a few other factors in determining the taste of the meat itself.  Also, there's a few small nuances with cooking/dressing/storing the meat that can be important, due to the highly natural diet of deer.  Follow these tips to ensure that your Venison is both safe and delicious:

Cooking Tips

• Parasites and tapeworms are common in venison; hence it should be frozen for minimum of two hours. This will kill any parasites or tapeworms.
• For tougher cuts like rump, round and shoulder, moist heat methods such as braising (simmering in a small amount of liquid, in a covered pot) is recommended.
• Prepare a hearty stew by combining venison steak pieces, root vegetables, spices and broth.
• Skewer marinated cubes of venison steak with vegetables and grill in the oven or on the barbeque.
• To mask the gamey flavor of venison, spices or marinades can be used.
• A vinegar-soaked cloth will remove hair from the meat, which can otherwise produce undesirable flavors.
• You can add other fats to avoid the meat from becoming too dry. Rub a roast with oil, butter, margarine, bacon fat or sweet or sour cream to add moisture, richness, and flavor.
• In case you have to marinate venison, do so in the refrigerator only. This is because its extreme sensitivity to heat might spoil it, at room temperature.
• Always defrost frozen venison in the refrigerator and not at room temperature

All in all, Venison is a perfect alternative to traditional beef, chicken, turkey, pork, and similar meats.  Think of it, a healthy red meat!  What are the chances.  I suggest that you try this meat out ASAP, either for lunch or dinner.  The taste may take a little getting used to, it can be very strong and some people don't completely enjoy it at first. But others absolutely LOVE IT.  I plan to pick some up soon myself, probably in the form of Venison jerky.  

Be adventurous, try something natural, lean, healthy, and delicious!

Cook carefully, enjoy wholeheartedly, and good luck!