Tips for integrating meat into a healthy diet

Do you want to integrate meat into your diet in a balanced way? Easy. Just follow these recommendations and eat healthy.

A healthy diet is one that adequately incorporates food in terms of quantity, quality, balance and continuity. Doing so leads to a healthy lifestyle and reduced disease. Some people remain in doubt as to how to integrate meat into a healthy diet.

Meat refers, according to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), to any edible muscle part of animals. This can be of land or air animals, but it is common for people to talk about red meat either beef.

Meat is one of the main sources of protein for the body. It provides essential amino acids, vitamins, fatty acids and minerals.

nutritional value of meat

The nutritional value of meat It depends, to a large extent, on the animal species from which it is extracted.. But in general, according to Horcada, 40% of the amino acids that make up meat proteins are essential.

By essential amino acids we mean those that the body cannot create on its own. That’s why we need them from the food source.

It may also contain fat, which varies according to the animal, the species or the cut. Lean meats are often represented by poultry and the fattiest are pork, for example. The main fatty acid in meat is monounsaturated oleic acid.

Here we will show in more detail the nutrients of beef according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) per 100 grams:

• Water: 65.7 grams.
• Proteins: 27.7 grams.
• Fat: 6.38 grams.
• Calcium: 13 milligrams.
• Iron: 3 milligrams.
• Match: 259 milligrams.
• Potassium: 352 milligrams.
• Magnesium: 13 milligrams.
• Sodium: 54 milligrams.
• Niacin: 5.74 milligrams.
• B12 vitamin: 4.21 micrograms.

The amount of protein that different types of meat contain are usually similar. What can vary is the amount of fat.

How to integrate meat into a healthy diet?

Perhaps one of the harmful points for health is in the saturated fatty acids that meat contains. that kind of fat is related to heart problems.

1. Choose lean cuts

When buying meat it is most convenient to buy the mid-back cut. It is the one with the least fat. The loin, the tail of the rump, the rump, the buttock, the shoulder, the peceto and the turtle would be the options.

2. Buy organic meat

The term organic refers to the meat has not been treated conventionally. In the industry, cattle are often given hormones, antibiotics and anabolics.

Organic meat, on the other hand, is obtained from grass-fed cattle not exposed to fertilizers or dewormers or synthetic antibiotics. It has been found that organically managed animals can gain weight and serve as quality food.

Even more than meat obtained from conventional farming. In fact, organic foods have been shown to have small to moderate increases in nutrients.

3. Avoid fried foods

During oil reheating many chemical processes occur. In synthesis, peroxides and free radicals are formed.

These can be absorbed by the food that is cooked. Free radicals are those capable of generating oxidative stress and accelerating aging.

In addition, according to a group of professionals, these compounds participate in the formation of plaques of fatty origin by oxidation of LDL cholesterol evil at the level of the arteries.

This initiates the formation of atheromatous plaque that gradually clogs the arteries. In the end, everything manifests itself with ischemic heart disease and possible acute myocardial infarction.

Therefore, it is preferable to consume cooked meat in another way. It can be with little oil, like a quick sauce with olive oil, grilled or baked.

4. Combine with vegetables

You can eat grilled lean meat, but to make it a balanced dish must include an appetizer with a pumpkin and carrot cream soup and vegetables au gratin. You can select between broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower or potatoes, accompanied by a salad of smoked tofu and water chestnuts with oriental dressing.

5. Say goodbye to processed meats

Processed meats have been listed as carcinogenic by the International Cancer Research Institute. This means that there are studies that link its consumption with the appearance of colorectal cancer. However, the investigations continue to advance.

Processed meat is any type of meat that has been transformed by being exposed to salting, curing, fermenting, or that involves improving the flavor and preserving the food.

How much meat should you eat?

So how much meat should you eat? The answer is simple: moderate.

It is recommended to eat about 455 grams of cooked meat per week. That is what is necessary to meet the physical needs of food.

If you prefer to vary, you can consume white meat or substitute vegetables and legumes. Fill half your plate with vegetables, a quarter with protein and another with carbohydrates to integrate meat into a healthy diet.

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