Health Benefits

The power pack of nutrients

• Beef is more than just a wholesome, versatile ingredients and delicious menu options.
• Tasty beef dishes are excellent sources of many essential nutrients and make an important contribution to the healthy, balanced diet.
• Lean beef is the best absorbed sources of iron.
• What is often overlooked however, is lean red meat provides a total nutrition package.
• Beef is important sources of protein, B group vitamins including B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12, as well as the essential minerals, iron and zinc.
• Lean beef is a nutrient dense foods, in other words, a small serving of lean beef gives a large amount of important nutrients for health.
• There are surprisingly few calories in lean red meat and due to its high protein content, it makes a satisfying meal (helping us feel full for longer), aiding weight control. 

Iron

Iron is needed for healthy blood, giving us energy and for brain development in babies. Iron is found in a number of foods, including red meat. In general, the redder the meat, the higher the iron content.

Iron is found in two forms: haem and non haem. Haem iron is absorbed more easily by the body and is found in beef, lamb, liver, kidney, pork, poultry and seafood. Only about 5% of non-haem iron is absorbed and is found in vegetables, bread, breakfast cereals, beans, eggs and fruit.

Red meat can help to increase absorption, boosting the use of non-haem iron by up to four times. Vitamin C has a similar effect. Eating a combination of foods high in both haem and non-haem iron will ensure an iron-rich diet.

Zinc

Zinc is a component of every living cell in the body. It is essential for the structure and function of over 50 enzymes. It is important for growth, sperm production, night vision, appetite, sense of taste and smell, maintaining a strong immune system and for wound healing. Zinc is widely distributed in foods, but the amounts available for absorption vary.

Beef has a high zinc content. Red meats, especially kidneys and liver, are higher in zinc than poultry, cheese, grains, legumes or vegetables. 

Beef is the most commonly eaten sources of zinc.
The type of protein in foods such as beef and lamb promotes zinc absorption. 

This means zinc is more easily absorbed from meals containing meat. Plant foods such as grains and legumes often contain phytates and dietary fibre, which inhibit zinc absorption. 

Protein

Protein is needed to build, repair and maintain body tissues, organs and cells in all parts of the body. Proteins are complex molecules and are made up of different combinations of smaller units called amino acids. Our body can make some of the amino acids needed to manufacture protein and other necessary substances, but certain amino acids must come from the food we eat each day. These are known as the essential amino acids and are required throughout our life.

If a food provides all the essential amino acids for human needs, it is called a high quality protein food.

Beef is a high quality protein food with an optimum balance of essential amino acids. A serving of 100g cooked lean beef or lamb provides about 27-30g of protein.

Plant proteins, on the other hand, do not have the correct balance of amino acids for human needs, so are considered low quality protein. Plant proteins can be combined to give the full complement of essential amino acids, eg baked beans on toast.

B Vitamins

B group vitamins regulate many chemical reactions necessary to maintain health. Some help release energy in the body, some help to maintain good vision and health skin, some are important for optimal brain function, while others are needed for the manufacture of red blood cells.

Beef contains vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6 and are particularly important dietary sources of vitamin B12. 

Vitamin B12 is only found naturally in animal foods, with beef among the richest sources of this essential nutrient. Just 100g of lean beef provides your total vitamin B12 needs for the day. 

On average, beef provides almost a quarter of meat eaters vitamin B12 intake.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is involved with calcium in the body to give us strong bones. The main source of vitamin D comes from the sun, where it is synthesised in the skin, but due to limited exposure to ultraviolet rays outside, vitamin D becomes an essential nutrient that must come from our diet.

Traditionally, food sources have included dairy products and oily fish, but beef and lamb could also provide an important amount. Red meat is now known to contain a more potent type of vitamin D, making it an effective source.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is needed for growth, to keep skin and respiratory (breathing) tracts healthy, for vision (helping eyes to adjust to dim light) and to fight infection.

Liver is an excellent source of vitamin A. However, pregnant women are advised to eat no more than 100g of liver or liver pate per week due to potentially toxic effects on the foetus. 

Energy

The energy value of food is measured as kilojoules or calories.

One kilojoule (kJ) = 4.2 calories (cal). The energy value of meat depends mainly on the amount of fat it contains and on the cooking method used for example, frying with added oil will have a higher energy content.

To find out how beef and lamb compare with other foods see table below.

Energy value of some protein foods per 100g

Food	Kilojoules	Calories
Salami	2060	492
Bacon, grilled	1350	323
Cheese, cheddar	1770	422
Chicken drumstick, with skin, roasted	930	222
Lamb, lean, cooked meat	855	205
Beef, lean, cooked meat (average)	757	181
Lamb leg steak, grilled	728	174
Pork leg, lean, roasted	725	174
Beef rump steak, lean, grilled	663	159

Reference: The Concise New Zealand Food Composition Tables, 6th edition, 2003,
ISBN 0-478-10833-8.

Fat

• Fat is a concentrated source of energy.
• A gram of fat provides 37 kilojoules (kJ) or 9 calories.
• In comparison, a gram of protein provides 17kJ (4 calories) and a gram of carbohydrate provides 16kJ (4 calories)
• Foods high in fat are high energy or energy dense. 

It is important to remember we need to eat some dietary fat as it provides essential fatty acids and is required for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K as well as other fat-soluble nutrients such as lycopene in tomatoes.

Fat in food is almost always a combination of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Although many people perceive animal fat to be totally saturated fat, this is not true. Beef and lamb fat includes polyunsaturated and saturated fat with a good proportion of monounsaturated fat.

Lean beef actually contributes 9% of healthy monounsaturated fat to diets (more than from olive oil) and only 8% of the saturated.

Omega 3s

• Polyunsaturated fat is made up of two main families: omega 6 and omega 3. Omega 3 is known to help people with heart problems and is important for brain function.
• The small amount of polyunsaturated fat in beef and lamb also contains omega 3, potentially making a significant contribution to the diets of those who eat little fish.Conjugated Linolec Acid (CLA)
  
  The other polyunsaturated fat attracting attention is CLA. Studies on rats have shown a reduction in the incidence of cancer, and reduced tumour size when CLA is used as a treatment. 
  
  CLA is only found in products from ruminant animals (meat and milk), and at higher levels when those animals have been raised on pasture. 
  
  Research has shown beef could provide up to 15% of the required daily amount of CLA. 
  
  Stearic Acid - A Special Type of Saturated Fat
  
  Saturated fat is known for its ability to raise blood cholesterol levels. However, one type of saturated fat, called stearic acid, has a neutral effect on cholesterol levels. About a third of the saturated fat in beef and lamb is stearic acid.

Trimmed beef is low in fat. The fat content of lean beef is comparable to other protein sources such as chicken and pork and in some cases, significantly lower. 

It is easy to trim fat from meat, leaving only the lean muscle. Trimmed of visible fat, lean, cooked beef contains on average 6.6% fat and trimmed lean, cooked lamb has about 10.5%. 

Compare this with 20 to 35% fat in cheddar cheese, quiche or croissants.

Fat content (grams) per 100 grams
Snapper, baked	3.4
Lean beef topside, roasted	5.3
Lean lamb leg, roasted	7.0
Lean beef fillet, grilled	7.4
Lamb leg steak, grilled	7.8
Chicken leg, grilled	11.1
Lean pork shoulder, roasted	12.4
Quiche Lorraine	24.8
Cheese, cheddar	35.2

Reference: The Concise New Zealand Food Composition Tables, 6th edition, 2003, ISBN 0-478-10833-8.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a type of fat found in many animal products but is also made by the body. 

A certain amount circulating in the blood is necessary for good health. It is an important component in cell walls, bile and hormones. 

A high blood cholesterol level is not good for health as the cholesterol is deposited on the artery walls, increasing the risk of heart disease. 

High blood cholesterol can be caused by a genetic (inherited) condition.
Foods high in cholesterol include liver, kidneys, brains, egg yolks, prawns and shrimps. 

Moderate amounts of cholesterol are found in meat, poultry, some fish, whole milk and cheese. 

Cholesterol in food however, does not normally cause raised levels of cholesterol in our blood. 

Nutritionists agree an excess of saturated fat in the diet is the main cause of high blood cholesterol, not cholesterol in foods. 

Which foods contribute saturated fat to your diet?

Reference: New Zealand Food : New Zealand People, 1999. Key results of the 1997 National Nutrition Survey.

Lean beef can be included in a diet designed to lower blood cholesterol. 

The National Heart Foundation states women can include 100-150g of lean meat and men 150-200g of lean meat in their diet per day. 

Carbohydrates

Beef does not supply carbohydrates except for a small amount as glycogen in liver. Some varieties of meat have a small amount as added cereal for example, sausages.

Water

Lean meat contains 50 to 75% water.

Beef is a nutrient dense food. They provide good quality protein, the vital minerals iron and zinc, and the B group vitamins: B12, B1, B2, B3 and B6. They also contribute to the intake of selenium and vitamin D in our diets. 

Lean beef is the best sources of a iron diet. Iron is an essential mineral to good health. It has a diverse range of functions, including transport of oxygen in the blood, maintenance of the immune system and the production of energy. 

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world, even in countries where many health problems are related to eating too much rather than too little. 

Iron deficiency in babies and children can have significant and permanent effects on brain development, particularly in infants under 24 months of age. 

Trimmed of visible fat, lean beef contains about 10g or less of fat per 100g. Lean beef and lamb can be included in low fat and cholesterol-lowering diets.