Healthy living is an everyday life choice, don't get me wrong I definately don't always make the right choice and I cave for those oreos but, a great way to eat healthy is to keep beef on your menu daily, and it would probably help to cut the oreos out (hey I buy the low fat ones). A common error that comes from a commonly held belief that all calories are the same and we are what we eat. Instead, recent research shows we are what our body does with what we eat. For example refined carbohydrates are quickly converted to blood glucose. The pancreas releases insulin to keep glucose levels stable by converting any excess to fat and storing it in cells. (dang...those low fat oreos just turn into fat) This remarkably efficient process results in obesity and diet related health problems. With the help of Texas Beef Council, Range Magazine the NCBA & USDA. I want to dispel some of the myths regarding the healthy fats found in meat.
Myth #1 Beef is too fattening, it wouldn't be considered a part of a healthy diet and leads to obesity.
Fact #1 According to research compiled by the Texas Beef Council, beef is ounce for ounce just as lean as chicken. On average 3 oz of lean beef contains only 6 grams of fat. By the way, that is less than a tablespoon of olive oil, and fewer calories than a bagel or soda. The American Dietetic Association does not recommend the elimination of fat in the diet, as it is a necessary nutrient needed for energy and the transport of nutrients, but instead warns us just not to overdo it! However, the ongoing Framingham heart study that began in 1948 wrote in 1992 Archives of Internal Medicine: "The people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat and ate the most calories weighed the least and were the most physically active." That is my kind of guy, but note that the people he followed started in 1948 when our food was not mostly processes preserved carbohydrates but a lot of people were still consuming food they grew or their neighbors grew, and those people who are still alive today probably still maintain a lot of their same eating habbits, I'm just sayin.....
Myth #2 Chicken always contains less fat than beef.-
Fact #2 Let’s look at how the seven skinny cuts of beef compared to chicken. According to research compiled by the Texas Beef Council, beef is ounce for ounce just as lean as chicken.
Figure 1 – Texas Beef Council Research
A chicken thigh tops the chart! Not only can you realize the benefit of eating beef in place of chicken thighs for a healthier, lower fat protein source, but did you know that beef contains greater levels of other nutrients that make it nutritionally superior as well?
Myth #3 All protein sources are created equal
Fact #3 Calorie for calorie, lean beef has more nutrients than any other food source. Beef is packed with necessary nutrients. One important benefit of red meat is to preserve the integrity of cells with cholesterol and saturated fat & specific nutrients found in high quantities in red meat; a great example is Iron. Iron helps to deliver oxygen to your cells and muscles, which gives you the energy you need to make it through that afternoon slump, chase your children around, or to spend a day in the saddle. On average beef contains 3 times more iron than chicken.
These are your choices…This illustrates how many more calories you would have to consume to reach the same nutritional level as 3oz of lean beef vs. other food choices
