The PK of "red meat" and "white meat" has a long history. Even meat lovers may wonder: What is the difference between red meat and white meat?
Life Times invites experts to reveal how to choose healthier red and white meat, and teach you to be a smart meat eater.
Experts interviewed
Fan Zhihong, Associate Professor, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University
He Li, researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Doctor of Food Safety, Director of Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center Zhong Kai
Professor Chen Shunsheng, School of Food, Shanghai Ocean University
Do you get a clear share of white meat & red meat?
How to distinguish between red meat and white meat? Let's start with a simple method: look at the color of raw meat.
Scientists have found that the cause of red meat redness: myoglobin , which contains divalent iron ions , so it appears red.
Myoglobin is a protein that transports oxygen into an animal's muscles, so the more exercise the meat has, the more oxygen it contains, the redder the meat becomes.
Beef and mutton are redder than lean pork, and lean pork is redder than chicken breast, which means that beef and mutton contain higher heme than pork, and pork is higher than chicken.
Therefore, beef and mutton are typical red meat, while chicken is typical white meat.
But there are exceptions, salmon feed on algae, fish and shrimp, the body of the astaxanthin makes the salmon meat appear orange-red.
In general:
The meat of mammals such as cattle, sheep, deer, donkeys, horses, pigs, and rabbits is called red meat.
Chicken, duck, quail, fish, shrimp, shellfish and other poultry and seafood aquatic meat is called white meat.
Meat quality:
In terms of meat quality, the muscle fibers of red meat are coarse and hard, while the muscle fibers of white meat are delicate and tender.
Nutritional aspects:
Red meat is rich in high-quality protein, at the same time, iron and phosphorus are rich, especially iron, mainly in heme iron, which is a high-quality source of dietary iron. In addition, red meat is a good source of vitaminS, vitamin D and B vitamins.
The fat content of white meat such as fish and poultry is relatively low, and the content of unsaturated fatty acids is high. Some deep-sea fish, shellfish meat and EPA, DHA and other nutrients are not found in red meat. It plays an important role in the prevention of dyslipidemia and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Red meat vs white meat, which is healthier?
In the opinion of experts, the risks and benefits of eating red meat coexist. In contrast, white meats such as chicken and fish are more beneficial to health.
The report released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) states:
Cancers associated with the consumption of red meat and cured meat are mainly rectal cancer and colon cancer, and some pancreatic cancers and prostate cancers may also be related to this. The report shows that eating more than 100 grams of red meat per day increases the risk of cancer by 17%.
The World Health Organization listed red meat as a "Class 2A" carcinogen in 2015.
The so-called AAA carcinogen, that is, "probable carcinogen", refers to carcinogens that have been confirmed in animal experiments to have a clear carcinogenic effect, but the evidence in population studies is still relatively limited.
Although there are various risks in red meat, this does not mean that eating it will inevitably cause cancer.
While it's hard to accurately calculate the balance between risk and reward, it's almost certain that eating less is fine, or countries around the world would have kicked it out of the dietary guidelines long ago.
The National Institutes of Health study involving more than 500,000 people who followed for 16 years found that participants who ate the most white meat had a 25 percent lower risk of death from various causes compared to participants who ate the least amount of red meat.
It should be reminded that when eating white meat such as chicken and duck, it should be peeled, otherwise it will increase fat intake.
Eat less red meat, is it more "less"?
In the face of meat, it is not advisable not to eat it, nor should it eat more. The six periods of meat intake are the most: iron deficiency anemia, growth and development, pregnancy, lactation, weight loss, and fitness.
Experts say that in order to eat red meat healthily, you need to pay attention to the following 5 points:
01
The daily diet should try to choose lean meats, such as tenderloin. Eat less fatty meat, such as pork belly and fat cattle.
02
The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016) recommend that the daily intake of livestock and poultry meat be 40 to 75 grams. You can eat a little red meat every day, each time controlled at about 1 or two, you can also eat 3 to 5 times a week, do not eat too much at a time.
03
In addition to steaming and stewing, the meat can also be made into meat filling, which can be used to make buns, dumplings, meatloafs and balls.
04
Cutting large pieces of meat into small pieces, such as shredding, dicing, and slicing, and eating them with other vegetables can not only control the intake, but also help balance nutrients.
05
Meat should be bought and eaten fresh, preferably frozen for no more than one month. Meat is best eaten fresh, in the frozen state, although the meat will not appear in large numbers of bacteria, but once thawed, it will be more likely to breed bacteria than fresh meat. Therefore, the meat should not be frozen again after thawing.
The most advanced white meat: fish meat
In fact, fish is not only healthier than red meat, but even poultry meat, which is also white meat, is slightly inferior to it.
Among the many meats, fish not only retains the advantages of meat food, but also makes up for the lack of most meat foods.
The protein in fish meat is the highest quality, not only the content is higher than that of white meat such as chicken and duck, but also the proportion of essential amino acids in protein is higher than that of red meat, which is one of the main sources of high-quality protein.
Moreover, fish meat has less muscle matrix protein, short muscle fiber, and tender meat, which is softer and tenderer to eat than poultry meat and red meat, and it is easier to digest and absorb.
Due to the different growing environments, fish contain more vitamins and minerals than land animals, such as calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin D, B vitamins and so on. In addition, fish is also rich in biofunctional ingredients such as DHA, glutathione, and taurine.
Because of this, the benefits of fish and meat to health are not only to protect the heart, but also to benefit the brain, reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, protect vision, and help control weight.
Eat right to enjoy the health benefits:
When eating fish, it is also necessary to accompany vegetables, staple foods, etc., while controlling the intake of other meats.
Patients with chronic diseases or high-risk groups eat more marine fish.
The elderly and children choose fish with fewer spines: such as multi-treasure fish, turbot flounder, pomfret and so on.
Fish cooking methods include steaming, braising, frying, grilling, frying, etc., the healthiest method is steaming, which can not only retain the original delicious taste of fish, but also reduce the intake of oil and salt.
Pick freshwater fish to choose fresh, poor physique fish are not flexible, or the fish mouth is close to the water, or the tail is drooping, or the fish body floats sideways on the surface of the water ("turning belly"), it is best not to buy. ▲
Editor of this article: Liu Yunxuan
Copyright notice: This article is the original of Life Times, and unauthorized reproduction is refused.