Eight of the 20 amino acids you need for building new tissue come only from food. To build new tissues, you also need these amino acids in the right proportions. Meats with amino acid structures that closely resemble the proteins of human flesh provide the best nutrition in terms of protein building blocks. American diets typically provide more complete protein than necessary; judging meat by other nutritional standards leads to the healthiest nutritional choices.
Protein Needs
Because your body does not store amino acids, every day you need to eat enough protein to replace any damaged tissue. If you're involved in training that builds muscle, you need more protein than if you lead a sedentary lifestyle. If you weigh 150 pounds and don't exercise, you need just 54 grams of complete protein daily. If you practice endurance sports at the elite level, you need 108 grams, and if you train for strength you need as much as 121 grams daily, according to The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Eating more protein than you need could result in bone loss as acids created from the conversion of protein to energy leach away calcium.
Protein Quantity
Two or three 3.5-ounce servings of meat daily fulfill the protein requirement of the average person. Seven ounces of skinless turkey breast contains 60 grams of protein, while 7 ounces of porterhouse beef steak holds only 44 grams. Both meats provide complete proteins when supplemented by amino acids from other foods in a well-balanced diet. Turkey provides the healthier choice, since 7 ounces of skinless turkey breast holds only 8 grams of fat. The same portion size of porterhouse beef steak contains over 51 grams of fat. Other types of red meat offer healthier alternatives than beef steak.
Healthy Choices
Choosing fish and poultry over red meat delivers essential nutrition and lowers the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Eating less than 18 ounces of red meat each week also lessens your risk of colon cancer. Lean red meat provides essential minerals including phosphorus and iron, as well as vitamin B-12, a nutrient not found in vegetable foods. Meat protein digests easily and exceeds the nutritional quality of any plant protein. Mutton provides better overall nutrition than beef, according to associate professor Peter Williams of the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Best Meats
One 3.5-ounce serving of roasted rabbit provides about 29 grams of protein and just 8 grams of total fat, with only 2.4 grams of saturated fat. Longhorn beef cattle raised on grass yield lean red meat with only 4.3 grams of fat per 3.5-ounce serving, compared to grain-fed beef's 21.3 grams of fat. Grass-fed beef provides more omega-3 fatty acids and more of vitamins A and E, according to the Bandera Grassland website. Goat meat yields just over 3 grams of total fat per 3.5 ounces, with only one-third as saturated fat. Goat meat contains less cholesterol, more iron and more potassium than beef, pork, lamb or chicken, according to the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
References
- The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension; Protein Needs; Linda Houtkooper; February 2006
- University of Illinois Extension: Turkey for the Holidays
- Harvard School of Public Health: Protein: Moving Closer to Center Stage
- University of Wollongong Research Online; Nutritional Composition of Red Meat; P.G. Williams; 2007
- "Journal of Food Distribution Research"; An Analysis of Household Consumption of Rabbit Meat in the Southern United States; Meghan N. Beal, et al.; March 2004
- Bandera Grassland: Nutritional Comparison
- Alabama Cooperative Extension System; Nutritive Value of Goat Meat; Julio E. Correa; June 2011
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