Reinstating beef as a nutritious health food in consumers’ minds, amidst adverse media publicity, is a priority for many meat industry representatives.
Assisting in this mission, nutrition educator Michael Joseph, recently highlighted 11 health benefits of eating beef in his online article on Nutrition Advance.
Joseph states that beef provides a large source of L-Carnitine, an amino acid that occurs naturally in meat products; among other functions, L-carnitine plays a part in fat metabolism.
“As part of this, L-Carnitine does the job of transporting fats into our mitochondria for burning,” he mentioned, pointing out that research has suggested that a higher dietary intake of L-Carnitine may have positive health impacts in heart health, diabetes and weight loss.
In addition, beef provides the ‘master antioxidant’ glutathione, Joseph added, which has a “score of research linking it to anti-aging benefits, increasing longevity, preventing illness, reducing the risk of chronic disease and strengthening the immune system”.
What’s more, beef is high in protein and “helps improve muscle mass”; Joseph states that beef is “packed with health-promoting amino acids and it’s one of the single biggest sources of protein in the human diet”.
And as people age, “building—or at least holding on to—lean mass should be a priority,” he mentioned. “Research shows that older adults with lower muscle mass are at a higher risk of mortality.”
Beef is also extremely rich in minerals, and can also help prevent iron deficiency anaemia, while also containing carnosine, a potent amino acid, according to Joseph.
He goes on to highlight that beef is full of vitamins, including B12, as well as conjugated linoleic acid.
Beef also contains the “performance enhancer” creatine, health benefits of which include improved exercise performance, assisting in muscle growth and development, providing muscles with greater energy supply and improving endurance, along with increasing muscular size.
Finally, according to Joseph, beef is very affordable per calorie, as well as very simple to make.
“This one isn’t a health benefit as such, but it could be if it encourages more home cooking,” he noted.
“Beef is a straightforward food to cook. It requires no lengthy recipe or complex preparation procedures.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
