Nutritional value of meat

Red meat is the flesh from mammals, including beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton and goat meat. Cured meat is the meat made with processes that include salt, smoking, etc. to enhance its taste. Some examples or cured meats are ham, salami, bacon and some sausages.

 

Recommendations

  • Red meat consumption should be limited to no more than about three portions per week (in total i.e. 350–500g of cooked meat per week).
  • The Mediterranean Diet, which has been recognized as one of the most beneficial nutritional patterns worldwide, with many protective properties, traditionally includes 1 time per week red meat and almost no processed meat and replaces it with white meat (poultry) or fish.

 

What do we get out of eating red meat?

  • By consuming this amount we benefit from the beneficial properties of eating red meat (as a source of essential macro- and micronutrients) but at the same time we avoid the negative effects of too frequent consumption (increased risk of colon cancer and other non-communicable diseases).
  • Red meat is a good source of protein, iron, vitamin B12 and other micronutrients. For those who consume it, lean cuts of the animal should be preferred.
  • However, people who choose not to include meat in their daily diet (vegans, vegetarians) can get adequate amounts of these nutrients from other foods and the right food combinations