While meat can be a part of a healthy diet, not all sources are created equal. The leanest and healthiest meats to eat include poultry, pork, fish, and seafood. Eating a balanced diet is one of the keys to a healthy lifestyle, which means choosing various foods from different food groups, like proteins.
Healthiest: Skinless Turkey Meat
An excellent source of niacin and vitamin B6, skinless turkey, is one of the best lean proteins to add to your meals. The nutrients found in skinless turkey meat can help support heart health, energy levels, brain function, digestion, and other bodily processes.
You have probably heard it many times already: don't eat too much red meat or processed foods. But research shows processed red meats, like bacon, hot dogs, and salami are the biggest problem.
The best meat for humans to eat is lean and nutrient-rich, such as skinless chicken breast, fish, and pork tenderloin. These meats are low in saturated fat and cholesterol and provide essential nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins.
These include chicken and turkey breasts, pork tenderloin, and beef eye and top round, top sirloin, flank steak, ground beef, and tenderloin. Lean meats are rich in protein, a vital nutrient for building and maintaining muscles and tissues. They also provide heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, not just saturated fat.
The American Heart Association recommends choosing healthy sources of proteins, mostly from plant sources; regularly eating fish and seafood; substituting fat-free and low-fat dairy products in place of full-fat versions; and for people who eat meat or poultry, choosing those that are lean and unprocessed.
Cut out processed meats altogether or keep them to an absolute minimum. Processed meats include bacon, ham, devon, frankfurts, chorizo, cabanossi and kransky. Cutting down on red and processed meats will reduce your cancer risk. Find out more about red meat, processed meat and cancer prevention.
It is recommended that you do not eat too much red meat, processed meat or meat that is high in saturated fats as this can lead to health problems.
Beef, lamb and chicken hearts along with liver are a great source of Vitamin B12, which is good for your entire nervous system, DNA production, healthy red blood cells, and overall energy booster.
Look for sources that are low in saturated fat, are unprocessed, or are high in heart-healthy unsaturated fats and omega-3s. Some good examples are: White-meat poultry, such as chicken or turkey breasts. Fish, especially fatty fish like salmon, lake trout, mackerel, herring, sardines and tuna.
Pork, for example, is the most consumed meat globally, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, making up 36% of the world's meat intake.
Some high-protein diets limit carbs so much that you might not get enough nutrients or fiber. This can cause problems such as bad breath, headache and constipation. Some high-protein diets allow red meats, processed meats and other foods high in saturated fat. These foods may increase your risk of heart disease.
Nutritional information
They're rich in protein and healthy fat, and they're calorie-dense. Two tablespoons, or 32 grams, of peanut butter gives you 7.2 grams of protein. Peanut butter also contains: fiber.
Least healthy meats
Processed Meats: Notably, there are over 200 types of cold cuts and processed meats. These include hot dogs, bologna, and Vienna sausages. Processed meat is often made of less healthy organs like the stomach, lips, and heart.
The pig is considered an unclean animal as food in Judaism and Islam, and parts of Christianity. Although Christianity is an Abrahamic religion, most of its adherents do not follow these aspects of Mosaic law and do consume its meat.
Processed meats are meats that have been preserved by smoking or salting, curing or adding chemical preservatives. They include deli meats, bacon and hot dogs. Eating processed meats increases your cancer risk. Unfortunately, when these processed meats are preserved, cancer-causing substances form.
Is rotisserie chicken processed? Yes. While each whole rotisserie chicken may appear unprocessed, the addition of additives like those described above mean it's actually considered a processed food.