Today, many nutritionists and doctors unanimously assure that it is very harmful and even dangerous to eat red meat. What is the matter with this product? For many centuries, our ancestors ate traditional dishes from various species of animals and birds and did not complain about their health. But current scientists have come to the conclusion that a long and healthy life will be achieved only when switching to plant foods and some seafood. To understand the essence and make a choice, it is necessary, first of all, to figure out what the "bright" heads of modernity had in mind and why some of them insist on such radical changes in the human diet.
Protein essence
Red meat is muscle tissue of animal origin, as well as fatty and connective tissue. All this contains a high concentration of myoglobin. This protein binds oxygen in muscle tissue and thereby gives them energy to contract. It also provides color. Based on this definition, it is impossible to say unequivocally that red meat is pork or beef, and nothing more. This category includes both the most diverse animals as a whole and their individual parts. Much also depends on the mobility of the animal, habitat and nutrition, age and gender.
Types of Red Meat
The meat of pigs, rams, goats, horses, cows, oxen is in most cases considered red. Only the fact that the concentration of myoglobin in the muscles of the animal increases with age should be taken into account. Consequently, a milk pig, a calf or a kid will be more correctly not included in this list.
Some parts of the body of a rabbit, chicken, duck, turkey, goose are also considered red meat. As a rule, these are legs and hips, but here also a lot depends on age, nutrition and lifestyle. For example, in the tissues of broiler chickens, even in the legs, the concentration of myoglobin is very low, due to the very low motor activity of the bird.
Any feathered or shaggy game is definitely red meat. This is due to the high content of the aforementioned protein in the muscles of wild animals and birds as a result of mobility and constant muscle work.
Heart vs Red Meat
Today, many deny themselves the pleasure of tasting a piece of pork, beef or lamb fried on a grill or pan. Adherents of a healthy lifestyle insist that it is very harmful to eat red meat, that such a dish causes heart and vascular diseases. There is some truth in this. Indeed, some types of this product, especially when improperly prepared, contain very high cholesterol. This harmful substance clogs the blood vessels of a person and can even cause death due to a heart attack. The main thing in this matter is a sense of proportion. Of course, you should not abuse junk food daily, but a couple of times a year in nature with friends you can slightly please your taste buds.
Are carnivores at risk of getting cancer?
Not all scientists are inclined to consider red meat a source of evil and call it the cause of diseases such as cancer of the intestine or breast. The thing is that the cause of the onset and development of cancer in humans has not yet been established. However, as a result of some scientific studies and observations, scientists have found that people who consume steaks of red meat in large quantities are more at risk than vegetarians. Most likely, the whole point is not in meat as such, but in saturated fats and carcinogens that are formed when improperly prepared.
Another reason for the occurrence of malignant tumors in humans, doctors call an excess of iron, which is found in large quantities in red meat. It is this substance, according to the luminaries of science, that can form compounds that damage healthy body cells, causing oncology.
Everything that nature has created is good.
This product, as mentioned above, contains a large amount of iron, which is easily absorbed by the human body. This is far from always harmful, and for some people it is even necessary. Hemoglobin is responsible for oxygen saturation of the blood. Its deficiency can cause serious health problems, as well as excess. If a person has a normal or low level of hemoglobin in the blood, then it is important to eat red meat rich in heme iron . What is iron deficiency anemia and what irreparable harm it does to the body, especially the female, then you will never know.
In muscle tissue of animals rich in myoglobin, a high concentration of zinc. This chemical element in small doses is found in the body of every person and helps the immune system cope with its duties. Regular consumption of red meat maintains a normal level of this substance in the human body.
Red meat is also a source of B vitamins, namely B12. This is an important component of the nervous system.
To eat or not to eat - that’s the question!
To eat with health benefits you need properly cooked red meat. What is “proper cooking”? This is, first of all, the rejection of chemical additives and industrial processing. In other words, it is better to refuse ready-made sausages, sausages and ham. Any of these products can be prepared at home. Better to steam, boil or bake. The main thing is without crispy fried crusts and fatty gravy with carcinogens. This will lower cholesterol.
A fragrant low-fat piece of beef in a bowl of healthy soup is also red meat! What is bad that our body can do a pork tenderloin steak? Nothing! Even, on the contrary, will replenish the body’s reserves with the necessary trace elements and energy!