Americans today eat all kinds of different foods that range from many cultures and backgrounds. We also claim that certain foods are deemed “bad” or “unhealthy” a lot of the times as well. Recently one particular food (or should I say “group” of meat), has been on the back burner for quiet awhile. Let’s talk beef. Red meat, beef, steak, and any other names you have are what we are going to discuss. But why beef? Well to start, Americans eat roughly 270 pounds of beef every year, and that was a decrease over several years. The US is in the top four countries in the world to export beef with a whopping 1,120,000 metric tons shipped, and that number is projected to increase within the next couple years! So why does beef have such a bad rep? Well according to a 2015 World Health Organization reported that “meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavor or improve preservation” is carcinogenic to humans. Also, according to the National Cancer Institute – a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – cooking meats at high temperatures can lead to the production of heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are chemicals that have been shown to increase cancer risk in animal models. However, the report from WHO concluded that the role of HCAs and PAHs in human cancer risk is not fully understood, and from their review, there was not enough data to determine whether the way meat is cooked influences cancer risk. So is there really a risk?
Lets see what CT’s #1 Personal Trainer really thinks about beef:
With a little more fat than other kinds of meat, it provides more complete proteins than other meats. This meat provides more flavors due to the increase in fat as well. Also, when shopping for beef you have options. Normally you will be beef (ground beef in this format mostly) in 70/30, 80/20, or 90/10. The first number represents the amount of muscle, why the other number represents the amount of fat. The leanest version is the 90/10 which provides 10% fat in the meat. Also, beef has a load of B-Vitamins, Vitamin D, Iron, and other minerals. The recipes that can be made with beef are endless.
According to CT’s #1 Personal Trainer, We are all able to make our own conclusions about beef, and proves itself in our diets. Obviously too much of one specific food group is never healthy, but making sure you include beef in your diet is beneficial.
