Choosing the right meats is all your health accounts for. So one should consider selecting healthy meat for healthy living.
Whenever someone is trying to switch to a healthy lifestyle, most likely one of the first things that go out of their daily intake is meat.
We usually tend to enjoy meat in its unhealthiest of forms: hamburgers, corn dogs, or basically any of the unhealthy snacks that we tend to relish.
Some meats have a high amount of fats, and eating them in any way than part of a balanced diet is considered to be harmful to health, and can cause deadly health concerns such as high cholesterol while also impacting heart health.
People who eat excessive amounts of red meats are also considered to be at high risk for cancer.
A balanced diet is one that has healthy amounts of protein sources including healthy meat, fish, and eggs, along with grains, vegetables, beans, pulses, salads, etc.
However, when eaten the right way, it has ample benefits to offer and can help you rejuvenate your health instead of compromising it (for which it is so famously known!)
All are considered healthy in moderation, but some are healthier than others
Whether you choose to eat meat or not is up to you, but it certainly can constitute a healthy diet.
All it comes down to is the amount of meat you are consuming. Even though meat is known to provide a good amount of vitamins, omega fats, and iron, it can severely impact your heart health if not eaten in moderate amounts.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care recommends that you shouldn’t eat more than 70g of red or processed meat.
It also depends on the quality of meat you are buying: for instance, organic or grass-fed meats are expensive, but the price does not surpass the benefits it can give you as compared to regular meat.
Removing the skin of the meat such as chicken is also considered to pull down the fat content to a great extent.
Some meats are healthier than their counterparts, you must have heard it often. But with so many options available in the market, it gets difficult to decide which one’s are claimed to be healthy meat and which one’s really are.
Broadly speaking, red meats like beef are considered to be richer in saturated fats than their healthier friends while white meats such as chicken breast are called healthy meat for those who want to be on a high protein diet while also considering a cut on the fat content in their diet.
But it isn’t to say that you should give your red meats up entirely since they are a good source of a variety of nutrients and vitamins such as Iron and Vitamin B.
Go For Lean Cuts Of Healthy meat
There are certain cuts of meat that are lower in saturated fats than the other parts. For instance, a skinless chicken breast is a good example of a lean cut of meat.
There are many different types of cuts available for all meats but only some are considered to be healthy.
How to be sure? If you are buying pre-packed chicken, read the labels.
Otherwise, you can always ask the butcher to guide you through it. Even when you are at a restaurant, you can simply ask the waiter to help you decide on a lean option for your meat.
Some Of The Healthy Meats To Opt For:
Chicken:
Chicken is one of the healthiest options to go for, it is high in protein as well as iron, vitamins, and amino acids while also being far lower in saturated fats than any other type of meat.
But the thing about chicken as well as other meats is that it is only considered healthy meat when you want it to be.
If you eat it in the form of fried chicken or with rich gravy, you will be killing all its health benefits. Also, don’t forget that chicken is healthier without the skin.
Turkey:
The holiday season classic, turkey is another form of meat that offers you all the healthier lifestyle choices.
It has all nine amino acids which make it a complete protein. Even though cooking is a pretty extensive process, the benefits and the result in terms of taste and texture make that so worth it.
Beef:
You are surprised to see this on the list, aren’t you? Beef is usually considered to be bad for health.
But recent studies have shown that going for lean beef is a good option and offers benefits such as good protein content, vitamins, zinc, etc. apart from being extremely delicious.
Hence beef is considered one of the healthy meat options.
Goat:
Goat is a famous meat option in many regions of the world and is eaten in a variety of ways. For instance, in India, it is eaten as a mouth-watering curry dish, which when prepared in the right way (by using fewer creams and other fats) can be a good option to make you feel sated while ensuring your health remains in check.
Liver:
Livers are overall considered to be healthy, but one of the best types of livers is beef liver. It has also been called to be one of the most nutritious foods on the planet.
It is high in vitamin A and B and is also good in iron as well as folate, which makes it a good option to consider for the health of your eyes as well as your overall body functioning while also being low in calories.
Fish:
It is a superior source of Omega 3 acids along with Iodine and Vitamin D3. It is also considered that eating fish helps reduce the risk of heart-related issues and in some cases, depression.
Salmon and Herring are a few names on your list of go-to options when considering fatty fishes.
The Bottom Line About Healthy Meat
Even though the above-mentioned are healthy meats, it does not mean that you should entirely give up on your favorite meat dishes.
Try to adopt a healthier way to eat them, whether in terms of cooking, the extra ingredients you put into your recipes, or even your portion size.
Balance your diet well and you will be happy at the end of the day to know that you had a healthy meal while not compromising on having a portion of your favorite type of healthy meat.