If you choose to avoid red meat completely in order to limit saturated fat, you can also ensure a balanced nutrition through the intake of white meat, bean products, nuts and vegetables.
Considering that red meat contains abundant and easily absorbed hemoglobin iron, it is suggested that women and children eat some in moderation to avoid iron deficiency anemia.
In addition, it may be more meaningful to pay attention to the processing methods of meat, limit the saturated fat in the whole diet, and achieve a balanced and diversified diet than to dwell on eating red meat.
* The following information is only popular science. The following information is only popular science, and should not be regarded as diagnosis and treatment advice, and cannot replace the doctor's individualized judgment on specific patients.
To this end, some people even asked, can "white meat" completely replace "red meat"?
According to the definition of the World Health Organization, "red meat" refers to the muscles of mammals, such as pork, beef and mutton.
Chicken, duck and other poultry meat and fish, shrimp and other aquatic products are collectively referred to as "white meat".
What happened to red meat?
The reason for this distinction is that a large number of studies have shown that eating more red meat will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and various cancers, and it is also related to higher mortality. [1] In contrast, the intake of white meat has no correlation with these health hazards.
This may be related to the high content of saturated fat in red meat. However, too much saturated fat intake will increase low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood, which may not only cause cardiovascular problems such as atherosclerosis, but also increase insulin resistance and increase the risk of diabetes.
In the process of processing and cooking, red meat will also produce a variety of carcinogens under the action of high temperature and oil smoke. Red meat has been listed as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer under the World Health Organization, while processed meat such as cured meat and sausage is directly listed as a clear carcinogen.
Eating a lot of red meat and heme iron will increase the level of free radicals in the body and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Although iron in red meat is beneficial to prevent iron deficiency anemia, for most men, the more common problem is eating too much meat.
In the Dietary Guide for China Residents, the recommended amount of livestock meat of 40-75g per day is actually the size of a palm. In The Lancet's best dietary advice to minimize the risk of disease death, it is suggested that everyone should only eat 18-27g red meat every day, which is almost the size of 1-2 fingers. [2]
Can white meat replace red meat?
Generally speaking, it is possible.
White meat, like red meat, can provide high-quality protein with lower saturated fat ratio, which is more friendly to cardiovascular health.
However, an obvious problem of white meat replacing red meat is that the iron content and absorption and utilization rate of white meat will be slightly lower.
What should I do if I am worried about iron deficiency?
In this case, you can eat more vitamin C to promote the absorption of non-hemoglobin iron in vegetables, eggs and grains. Scalding to remove oxalic acid from vegetables is also beneficial to the absorption of iron in vegetables.
If there is no iron deficiency anemia, you can eat poultry, fish and vegetables in a balanced way and basically get enough iron from food. For an ordinary adult male, the recommended daily intake of iron is only 12mg.
Anemia or eating red meat
In contrast, women need more iron because of menstrual blood loss every month, and it is recommended to take 20mg every day. Many women who eat less meat tend to feel weak, chills and inattention, which may be the performance of iron deficiency anemia.
In this case, it is best to try to ensure the intake of red meat and blood products every week, or you can eat animal liver twice a month to get enough iron.
job operation
Instead of focusing on the variety of meat, it is better to pay attention to the processing method of meat. Compared with unprocessed red meat, processed meat products such as bacon, sausage and bacon have a more significant relationship with cardiovascular disease and death risk. [ 1]
Even the fish that was originally white meat was salted into "Chinese-style salted fish", and the nitrosamine produced in the salting process was listed as "well-documented 1 carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
When handling meat, there are the following points to pay attention to:
1. Try to eat fresh meat and eat less processed meat products such as cured meat and ham sausage.
2. Try to choose heating methods such as steaming, boiling and frying, and control the heating temperature below 200℃.
3. Avoid barbecuing directly on open flames or hot metal surfaces.
If you must eat barbecue, you can heat the meat in the microwave oven first, and then bake it when the middle part is cooked, which can also obviously reduce the production of these harmful substances.
5. Pay attention to turning the meat frequently when cooking to avoid eating burnt and burnt parts.
6. Some fat dripped from meat during heating can be directly discarded, so don't try to collect it before eating.
Saturated fat
As mentioned above, one of the reasons why red meat is more unhealthy is the saturated fat in it. For example, every 100g of raw pork belly contains nearly 20g of saturated fatty acids.
What is the concept of 20g? We usually suggest that the intake of saturated fat should be limited to 10% of the daily energy supply. If the daily calorie intake is 2 100kcal, the intake of saturated fat should be controlled within 23g.
100g pork belly 20g saturated fat, plus saturated fat in edible oil, exceeding the daily limit may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Compared with fat meat and viscera, the saturated fat in lean meat will be relatively less, so try to choose lean meat when eating meat, and try to eat less meat with skin.
Compared with meat, which can provide protein, vitamins and minerals, foods with a lot of animal fat and extremely low nutritional value such as butter should be avoided to reduce the saturated fat content in the whole diet.
Such as cakes and fried foods, don't eat what you can eat.
Diet collocation
Compared with avoiding a certain kind of food, we have always advocated increasing the intake of healthy food and achieving a more balanced and diverse diet structure.
You can consider replacing some meat with soy products, eggs and milk. Don't forget that vegetables, fruits and whole grains are also important parts of your diet.
A balanced diet can not only enrich the taste of food, but also reduce the risk of chronic diseases and cancer.