Beef

Ayan, i bump on an article about beef in Readers Digest... naku, fav ko pa naman ang beef over chicken and pork.. tsk...read on, guys....

Benefits

• Contains a wide range of nutrients, including valuable minerals, particularly iron and zinc

Drawbacks

• High intakes are linked to cancer of the colon
• Too much beef fat can contribute to heart disease

Current trends towards vegetarianism and the possible links between eating red meat and heart disease have led to white meats gradually replacing beef as a major source of animal protein. Nevertheless, the nutritional benefits of beef should not be ignored, though the quantities of minerals it contains varies substantially, depending on the soil which supported the animal's grazing or on the components of the manufactured feed it consumed.

Due to modern breeding techniques and popular demand, beef is much leaner than it used to be. Lean beef contains less than 5 per cent fat, less than half of which is saturated fat, so that the risk of beef raising cholesterol levels has fallen. Nevertheless, there remains an apparent link between the incidence of cancer of the colon and people whose diets include large amounts of red meat.

The nutritional composition of different sorts of beef varies widely - for example 100g (3 1/2oz) of corned beef contains 950mg of sodium, compared to 320mg in stewed mince, and only 56mg in grilled lean rump steak. The total fat in 100g (3 1/2oz) of corned beef is 12.1g, in mince 15.2g but only 3g in lean rump steak....