Reasons to Include More Meat in Your Diet

Most nutritional guidelines recommend reducing meat intake while increasing vegetables, fruits and whole grains. This is especially true for women marketed as detox smoothies and recipes. So what is this advice? Are fruits, vegetables and whole grains the answer to losing weight and getting healthy?

A recent study by Tel Aviv University shows that humans have been the top predator for millions of years. In fact, many scientists think that human brain development and intelligence have increased as we began to hunt and eat more of our larger animals. In short, we became human because we started eating a lot of meat.

So why is meat so bad in today’s dietary rules?

Much of this has to do with ongoing research on saturated fat and cholesterol, both of which are abundant in meat.

5 Reasons to Add Meat to Your Diet

1. Super Satiating

Meat, especially the protein in meat, can satisfy hunger. There is less need to snack or eat soon when food is satiating. This means consuming fewer calories overall, leading to weight loss.

There are three main nutrients: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Protein is the most satisfying of the three, followed by fats and finally carbohydrates.

2. Power of Protein

Protein is not only satisfying but also the building block of the body.

Yes, protein is important for muscle building, but it also plays an important role in bone and body development. Our body cannot produce the 9 essential amino acids (another name for protein) on its own. All nine of these essential amino acids are found in meat. You can get these 9 essential amino acids by combining high-protein foods, but this may be difficult without high calories.

3. A Nutritional Powerhouse

Meat is more than protein and fat. Meat is rich in essential and important minerals and fat-soluble vitamins. In fact, meat products compete with many names as the best food, often being small portions or low in calories.

Other benefits found in beef:

• Creatine – Creatine is found mostly in red meat. It is often seen as an additional aid for muscle growth and maintenance.
• Glutathione – Glutathione, a super antioxidant, is found in many meats.
• Taurine – Taurine is another important antioxidant for heart and muscle function.
• Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) – CLA is a fat found in ruminants (herbivores). Proper nutrition provides many health benefits.

4. Bioavailability

Another advantage of meat is that the type of nutrients and vitamins it contains are more easily absorbed by the body.

Our bodies are generally ineffective at converting vitamins and minerals, especially from plants, into usable forms. Vitamins and minerals in plant foods are mostly similar to each other. They exist, but they are not in a form that our bodies can easily access and often do not pass through our systems successfully.

The nutrients in animal meat are generally in a form that our body can absorb without much effort.

A good example is heme iron. Heme iron is found in animal meat and is easily absorbed. Vegan iron sources like spinach are difficult to absorb.

The World Health Organisation estimates that approximately 30% of women have diabetes.

Pregnant women and pregnant women are at high risk of iron deficiency anaemia. The heme iron found in meat may be beneficial for these people.

5. Meat Tastes Great

While healthy foods may taste good, people rarely want to seek out super-tasty foods that come in colourful boxes and bags.

Meat is one of the least processed foods, and research shows that eating processed foods can lead to weight gain.

There’s a reason why they try to make cultured meat taste like real meat. The meat is delicious!

Bottom Line

Now you can see that there are some real and good reasons to eat meat, but saturated fat and cholesterol are not good reasons to avoid meat.
Eating lots of meat is good for your health, but be careful. We all have unique tastes and reactions to food.