Healthy Diet And Weight Control
Meat And Meat Products
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, or lungs.
The word meat is also used by the meat packing industry in a more restrictive sense: i.e the flesh of mammalian species (pigs, cattle, etc.) raised and prepared for human consumption, to the exclusion of fish and poultry.
Meat contains water, fibre, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, protein and cholesterol. The more the fat that meat contains, the more cholesterol it will produce in the body. In 100g of lean meat, 70-80mg of cholesterol will be produced which represents 25% of the daily value.
1. What are the advantages of eating meat?
• It is nutritious. It provides protein (between 15% and 20% by weight higher than the proteins in grains)
• Easy to digest: its protein can be digested much more easily compared to that of legumes
• Can serve as a nutritional complement and a dietetic treatment
2. Is meat the best source of protein and iron?
• No! The proteins are even inferior to that of eggs, milk and legumes.
*Moreover the amount of protein available in meat is lower than the proteins in
legumes.

• Legumes also produce more iron than meat.
3. Is it necessary to eat meat with every meal?
• No, it is not even a necessary food in human diet. The healthiest choice is to eliminate meat from the diet (of an adult) but those who can’t, should prepare meat in ways that pose the least risk to health.
4. What is the best way to prepare meat then?
• Cooking is better than frying because frying releases more carcinogenic substances than boiling.
• Meat cooked with onions and garlic are also less carcinogenic.
5. Is it true that meat consumption can increase cholesterol level?
• Yes! Not eating meat lowers cholesterol levels because it contains cholesterol
• Moreover meat contains saturated fat which fosters the production of cholesterol in the body.
6. What are the other problems caused by meat consumption?
• Diseases associated with regular meat consumption include cardiac disease, intestinal disorders, osteoporosis, Rheumatic disease, gout, diabetes and cancer.
• Various carcinogens are produced during the normal cooking of meat
• Substances which are proven carcinogens are also deposited in smoked meat.
• Modern techniques of smoking reduces these substances however meat, fish and sausages with smoke flavour always retain some amount of carcinogenic substances.
• A grilled hamburger contains a tiny amount of cancer causing substance but consumption of two hamburgers a day for five days provides enough to cause changes in the DNA of mononuclear blood cells.
• Meat is addictive. Some people experience a kind of inconvenience when they stop eating meat which is due to the effect of a stimulant called hypoxanthine.
7. Is all meat the same or some are worse than others?
• Canned meat contains less fat (around 5%) but the meat used is usually the worst quality and additive such as nitrites and phosphates are added. The human body is not designed to handle those additives in processed foods so they are not good for health.
• The higher the temperature the more carcinogenic substances are formed. Grilling and frying produce the most carcinogenic substances.
• Heat enhances the formation of carcinogens therefore Bacon, Ham and sausages pose higher risk of causing cancer.
• Variety meat (the viscera such as heart, liver, kidney, intestine etc) is worse than the muscle.
• Pork contains more fat. The carcinogenic substances in it contribute to the development of cervical cancer.
• Though chicken/poultry and pork fat are full of polyunsaturated fatty acids, they are still harmful, not protective like those of plant origin.
8. If I remove the skin of chicken, will it make it alright for consumption?
• Removing the skin of will reduce the total fat obtained from the chicken or other poultry but fat is not the only problem with eating them.
9. What are the other negative aspects of poultry / chicken?
• Poultry contains the highest level of hormones and other drug residues in meat.
• Poultry contains less fat but its proportion of cholesterol is similar to that of red meat.
• It produces more uric acid than any meat; second only to variety meat.
10. What modifications can be made to make eating meat safer?
• Eliminate aquatic animals that do not have fins and scales such as blowfish, shellfish (crustaceans and molluscs).
• Eliminate carnivorous animals (who feed on other animals)
• Boil with onions, garlic and avoid frying.
CONCLUSION: If you want to be as strong as the horse, eat what the horse eats but don’t eat the ox. (I.e. eat plant based food and avoid animal diet). Although plant based food do not have vitamin B12, it can be supplied by milk and eggs or soy products.
Note that it’s not compulsory that All children must eat meat for proper growth. Some whose nutrition has been poor will need all the possible animal foods to supply enough protein but many can get enough protein from milk, egg, legumes and grains. Pork and its derivatives present the highest risks of any meat products.