NuTrIeNtS In ReD MeAt

Red meat

Red meat, such as beef, pork and lamb, is an important part of a balanced diet and contains many of the nutrients essential for good health and well-being, as well as for healthy growth and development in children. Red meat and to a lesser extent chicken and fish are the best sources of easily absorbed haem iron.

KEY NUTRIENTS DERIVED FROM RED MEAT: see Essentials Nutrients Iron Zinc Selenium Vitamins Protein

We all need a healthy, balanced, nutritious diet, but certain groups of people may be more at risk of becoming deficient of some of the important nutrients found in lean red meat.

These include:

Under fives Teenagers Slimmers Women throughout their reproductive years Elderly people

In recent years, meat has been produced with considerably lower levels of fat. New butchery techniques remove most of the fat and provide cuts of meat that are ideal for quick cooking methods, such as microwaving, stir frying, dry frying and griddling.

FACT: Today, 100g of lean pork leg steak contains less fat than 100g of standard cottage cheese(1).

FACT: The leanest form of pork, beef and lamb today contains less than 10% fat, compared to at least 25% in the 1970s.

FACT: Less than half the fat in pork and beef is saturated, and only just over half in lamb.


The role of red meat in a balanced diet

Lean red meat and lower-fat meat products, when eaten with starchy carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, form part of a healthy, balanced diet.

The fat content of lean red meat has been reduced dramatically in recent years Many of the important nutrients in meat are found in the lean part, so it is possible to reduce the fat without reducing the nutritional benefits Red meat provides important vitamins such as B vitamins and vitamin D Red meat is a rich source of minerals such as iron and zinc Red meat is an important source of many types of vitamins, particularly B vitamins, and vitamin D. In fact, red meat is now recognised as an excellent source of vitamin D and is considered the largest natural source of vitamin D, second only to vitamin D fortified fat spreads