All food contains all of the nutrients we need to be healthy, it is necessary to eat various foods in sufficient amounts. A good diet will include many different foods, and sufficient in quantity and quality to meet an individual’s need for food energy and other micro nutrients.

Cured Meats

Dates

Eggplants

Eggs

Fennel

BEEF AND VEAL

Typical serving size:

3 oz (85 g)

HOW THEY HARM

Heart disease

Cancer

Bacterial infection

Hormones

WHAT THEY HEAL

Anemia

Weight gain

Bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood

BEEF AND VEAL FACTS

Lean beef has less than 10 g of fat, 4
5 g or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg of cholesterol per 100 g
Extra lean beef has less than half that amount of fat and saturated fat

A live steer weighs about 1,000 lb and yields about 450 lb of edible meat
Beef and veal aren’t the heart attack–causing culprits they have been made out to be
Many cuts are 20% leaner than they were 14 years ago—great news if you want to indulge in a steak or beef stew every now and again
Beef and veal are excellent sources of high quality protein, as well as vitamin B12, selenium, vitamin B6, and zinc
It’s also a good source of iron, phosphorus, and potassium, and contains some vitamin D

Health Benefits

Helps prevent anemia
Beef and veal are good sources of iron, which your body uses to carry oxygen in the blood
Many teenage girls and women in their child bearing years have iron-deficiency anemia
Aids weight loss
The protein in beef and veal can keep hunger at bay by reducing the impact of blood sugar after meals
Strengthens immunity
A 3-oz serving of lean, cooked beef provides more than 25% of your required selenium, a trace mineral essential in a healthy immune system
Serves as healthy building blocks
The protein in beef and veal function as building blocks for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood
They are also building blocks for enzymes, hormones, and vitamins

Health Risks

Heart disease
Beef fat contains saturated fat, which can increase blood cholesterol levels and the risk of cardiovascular disease
Choose leaner cuts and smaller portions
Cancer risk
A high-meat diet may raise the risk of colon cancer and other cancers
Harmful bacteria
Raw beef may contain Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, E
coli, and salmonella
Raw veal may contain E
coli and salmonella
You can avoid consuming these bacteria by handling the meat properly and cooking it thoroughly
Be careful, too, of cross- contaminating raw food (and its juices) with cooked
This may be a problem especially with ground beef

QUICK TIPS

Trim the fat

Trim all visible fat from your meat
Reduce fat further by broiling, grilling, or roasting on a rack (so fat can drip away)

Another approach is to cook stews and soups in advance, chill them so that the congealed fat can be removed easily, and then reheat the dishes before serving

A quick way to remove the fat is to drop an ice cube into the cooled liquid
The fat will harden around the ice cube and can be easily removed

Instead of making gravy or sauce, serve your meat “au jus,” after skimming off all the fat

Pink slime. It’s estimated that 70% of the ground beef in the U
S
contains pink slime—which are lean bits of meat derived from muscle and connective tissue (the beef industry calls it “lean finely textured beef”)
These beef trimmings are often treated with ammonia to kill the E
coli, salmonella, and other bacteria they may contain because the trimmings are cut from the outside of the meat, where bacteria are most likely to live
Hormone-fed cattle
Some researchers are concerned that hormone-fed cattle can pass on complications such as increased risk for some types of cancer
And for those who want to avoid hormones in beef, choose meats grown organically

Allergies

Use ¾ cup (177 mL) of pineapple juice, two peeled cloves of garlic, and other herbs to make an inexpensive and lower-fat marinade for sirloin, round, or kabobs

Grind lower-priced veal stew meat in the food processor to add to pasta sauce

Add slivers of beef to nutritious barley soup

Buying Tips

When buying raw meat, select it just before checking out at the register
If available, put the packages of raw meat in disposable plastic bags, to contain any leaks that could cross-contaminate other foods in your cart

The use-by date means that the peak quality begins to lessen, but the product may still be used afterward

Storing Tips

Keep beef and veal in original packaging until you use it

If possible, freeze meat in its original packaging to minimize the possibility of any contamination
Or, after separating a larger quantity of meat, tightly wrap in plastic wrap or freezer paper

If freezing longer than 2 months, overwrap these packages with airtight heavy-duty foil, plastic wrap, or freezer paper, or place the package inside a plastic bag

MAKE THE RIGHT CUT

Here’s your guide to beef and veal cuts