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.
A healthy balanced diet can include protein from meat, as well as from fish and eggs or non-animal sources such as beans and pulses. Meats such as chicken, pork, lamb and beef are all rich in protein. Red meat provides us with iron, zinc and B vitamins. Meat is one of the main sources of vitamin B12 in the diet.
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.
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.
Can I eat chicken everyday? Absolutely. Grilled or baked chicken throughout the week is the suggested way to prepare chicken. You can make simple, healthy chicken dinners, served over a salad of mixed greens, or mixed with peppers and onions for fajitas.
Unhealthy proteins: Processed meat
Processed and deli meats are consistently linked to poor health outcomes. These products tend to be high in salt, additives and saturated fat, which are linked to a higher risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions.
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. The popularity of pork is closely followed by poultry, which is a staple in many countries due to its versatility and affordability.
And people who don't eat meat, called vegetarians, generally eat fewer calories and less fat. They also tend to weigh less. And they have a lower risk of heart disease than nonvegetarians do. Research shows that people who eat red meat are at a higher risk of death from heart disease, stroke or diabetes.
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.
The average person needs 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight (or 0.36 grams per pound) of protein per day. For a 150-pound person, that's at least 54 grams of daily protein, and a serving of chicken delivers close to half of that requirement.
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.
Shrimp is a good source of protein, on par with, say, a rib-eye steak. It's high in calcium and vitamin B12. It's low in saturated fat, which makes it heart-healthy. And while shrimp is high in cholesterol, experts no longer worry as much about dietary cholesterol's effect on health.
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.
Cheese is a great source of protein and calcium but is often high in saturated fat and salt. This means eating too much could lead to high cholesterol and high blood pressure, increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).