Your red blood cells are expressly designed to perform one function: as they course through the tiny capillaries in your lungs, these oddly shaped discs capture life-giving oxygen from the air you breathe, transport it to the remotest corner of your body, and release it to other cells. Each red cell, or erythrocyte, begins its life in your bone marrow, where a conglomeration of enzymes, nutrients, hormones and cellular precursors cooperate to maintain a healthy population of circulating erythrocytes. Red meat supplies many of the basic ingredients for this process.
Iron
According to the World Health Organization, iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia worldwide. Anemia is a condition where you have too few red blood cells to meet your physiologic needs, resulting in fatigue, weakness, decreased exercise tolerance, poor mental function, delayed development in children and poor pregnancy outcomes in women. Since iron is needed to produce hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in your red blood cells, inadequate dietary iron intake inhibits normal erythrocyte formation. Red meat is a rich source of heme iron, the form that is most readily absorbed from your intestine.
Vitamin B-12
Vitamin B-12, or cobalamin, is needed to form DNA, which is incorporated into chromosomes, and RNA, which is needed to produce enzymes and proteins. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University reports that B-12 is also required to form building blocks for hemoglobin molecules. Production of new red blood cells requires large amounts of DNA, RNA and hemoglobin, so you need ample supplies of vitamin B-12 to support this synthetic activity. Red meat is a valuable source of vitamin B-12, which cannot be found in plant foods.
Protein
Hemoglobin is a complex molecule. It consists of four separate protein chains that, like all proteins, are built from individual amino acids. Each hemoglobin molecule contains approximately 580 individual amino acids, all of which must be acquired from your diet or from the breakdown of other proteins in your body. Amino acids are also required for other critical components of red blood cells. According to nutritionist Elson Haas, M.D., red meats are known as "complete proteins," because they contain a wide assortment of amino acids, including those that cannot be synthesized within your own body. Red meat also supplies some fat, which is needed for producing cell membranes for new erythrocytes.
Considerations
Red meat is an excellent food for supporting red blood cell production and maintaining a normal red blood cell count. However, the causes of inadequate erythrocyte production are legion, as are the causes of anemia. Furthermore, excessive intake of red meat is associated with its own adverse consequences, including a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and some cancers. A balanced diet is the best means of ensuring a healthy population of red blood cells. If your red blood cell count is low, your doctor can determine the cause and suggest the best way to treat your condition.
References
- World Health Organization: Anemia
- Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University: Vitamin B12
- Kenyon College: Biomolecules at Kenyon: Hemoglobin
- "Staying Healthy with Nutrition -- The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine: Proteins"; Elson M. Haas, M.D.; 2006
