A Guide To Meats
- By Paul Moore
- Published January 11, 2012
The various guises of meat provide essential amino acids necessary for muscle recovery, iron to energise working muscles and zinc to boost immune defence during intense training. But not all meats are created equal—here’s how to select the best products for your body (and the planet).
Written By Matthew Kadey
Beef
Choose: Grass-fed beef
According to a 2010 study, grass-fed beef is a worthwhile splurge. compared to their soy- and corn-stuffed brethren, grass-fed meat has higher levels of omega-3 fats, a beneficial fat called conjugated-linoleic acid (cLa), vitamins a and e as well as antioxidants such as glutathione. it also contains less saturated fats.
Smart buy: Look for the label “100 per cent grass-fed and finished.” cuts that say “loin” (as in sirloin) and “round” (such as eye round roast) are the leanest.
Budget tip: cuts on the bone are cheaper than options like tenderloin because processors charge extra for deboning.
Game Meat
Choose: Bison, elk, venison, ostrich
Most farm-raised game animals are pasture-fed, with room to roam, giving their meat a nutritional profile similar to grass-fed cattle, including iron to help energise working muscles. in fact, elk and ostrich have fat levels on par with chicken breast. Game meats are also always free of hormones. if you’re anticipating game-y flavour you’re in for a surprise: Range-fed game has big, rich flavour with lingering sweetness.
Smart buy: For a protein-rich, low-fat snack, try bison and other game meat jerkies.
Budget tip: Like beef, save by purchasing game meats directly from farmers.
Seafood
Choose: Wild salmon, mussels and other sustainable swimmers a raft of studies has linked fish consumption with a reduced risk for heart disease and other chronic diseases. Yet overfishing is rapidly transforming our oceans, certain fish farms are polluting waterways and toxins are making some species bad for your health. so concentrate on eating seafood deemed a “best choice” by Fishonline.org. It features fish and shellfish that get high marks for health and sustainability.
Smart buy: For a big dose of omega-3 fats that reduce muscle inflammation, choose wild alaskan salmon, barramundi, rainbow trout, arctic char, sardines and sablefish.
Budget tip: don’t overlook the canned fish aisle. sustainable choices such as pink salmon, sardines and smoked mackerel pack plenty of omega-3s without the hefty price tag of fresh cuts.
Poultry
Choose: Free-range organic turkey and chicken For better flavour and improved nutritional profile, look for organic, pasture-raised poultry. a recent study found that organically raised poultry had significantly lower levels of drug-resistant bacteria than their caged, conventionally raised counterparts. Poultry labelled “free-range” comes from farmers who must demonstrate their birds have access to the outdoors. but the ease of this access and whether the birds actually spend time in the sunshine is poorly regulated. as for “organic,” the birds may or may not have been allowed to forage outdoors.
Smart buy: whole chicken is surprisingly easy to cook, and the resulting plethora of cheap meat can be used for several meals such as salads, sandwiches and soups.
Budget Tip: in addition to being more affordable than white meat, darker meat is juicier and less likely to dry out during cooking. and with only one extra gramme of saturated fat per serving, but more iron and immune-boosting zinc, there’s no reason to eschew dark poultry meat.
FILED UNDER: All / Nutrition TAGS: About / advice / Beef / budget / Chicken / fish / Guide / health / Healthy / Meat / pork / poultry / turkey / Which
Paul Moore
Paul Moore is the Online Editor for Triathlete Europe. When not glued to a computer he can be found writing books - most recently The World's Toughest Endurance Challenges which you can buy on Amazon. Paul has also written Ultimate Triathlon: A complete training guide for long-distance triathletes which is also available on Amazon.
