Food Becomes You - Bringing Meat Back into Balance in Our Diet

My twenty-two year old daughter, a staunch vegetarian for many years, started eating chicken at college. But last month she surprised us by ordering pork loin in a restaurant. Last week she bought some bacon at the grocery store. She told me that she has had a craving for meat, that she feels better when she eats it.

Judging by the number of lapsed vegetarians that I know, this seems to be a trend. Our entire family ate vegetarian for many years, but slowly we've added back first chicken, then pork, then beef. Judging by the number of recipes I see for short ribs or lamb stew in food magazines, or the number of steakhouses that have recently opened in town, red meat intake is on the upswing even for longtime carnivores. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association confirms this gleefully: since 1999 beef consumption has been rising steadily. So, is this a lapse into hedonism or a positive nutritional development?

The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between. While it is certainly possible to meet one's nutritional needs with a high quality vegetarian diet, the key word is "high quality." Vegetarians may think of themselves as health-oriented, but in reality their diets vary as much in nutritional value as the average population. Many vegetarians emphasize rich dairy and egg dishes at the expense of legumes, nuts and seeds. They don't necessarily consume enough dark green and orange vegetables. They may rely too much on processed foods or, eat too many empty calorie foods like chips and cookies.

The population groups most likely to eat vegetarian - adolescents, women, and the elderly - are the ones most in need of the nutrients red meat provides. In our fat and cholesterol-phobic world, meat has been villainized. But while blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels are an important factor in heart disease, we are coming to realize they are not the only one. Exercise, stress, and general nutritional status also play major roles. Also, people vary in their genetic vulnerability to heart disease and their susceptibility to dietary influence. Some reputable studies have linked consumption of red meat to a higher risk of cancer, especially colon cancer. But again, there's not a direct-line relationship: many other factors are at work as well.

While most Americans ingest more than enough protein, some adolescents in the midst of their growth spurt do not. Athletic women, who are using up a lot of calories and building up a lot of muscle tissue, often fall short. Iron-deficiency anemia is a common problem among children, adolescent women and athletes (especially runners), leading to fatigue and a weakened immune system. Folic acid deficiency in pregnant women has been linked conclusively to nervous system abnormalities (such as spina bifida) in the developing child. As we age, it becomes more difficult to absorb vitamin B12, putting elderly people at risk for a deficiency. B12 deficiency causes neurological symptoms that mimic Alzheimer's, and often go undiagnosed.

For these vulnerable populations, adding a modest amount of red meat to the diet is an easy way to prevent these problems. Meat doesn't supply fiber, calcium, or vitamin C, and is not a substitute for a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. However, it can compensate for a lot of nutritional omissions. Without doubt, red meat is a nutrient-dense food. It obviously supplies a significant dollop of high quality protein. Three ounces of beef round supplies twenty-five grams of protein, or half the adult daily requirement. Meat is also a superb source of iron, and aids in the absorption of nonheme iron from iron-rich vegetables such as spinach. Animal products are the only source of vitamin B12, and meat also supplies a significant amount of the other B vitamins - thiamin, riboflavin, niacin,and folic acid. Red meat is an excellent source of the minerals phosphorus, magnesium, and especially zinc. The fat in meat contributes significant amounts of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E. There is some indication that a diet higher in protein relative to carbohydrates enhances the accumulation of lean muscle. The phosphorus and magnesium in meat work together with calcium to build strong bones.

I am not suggesting that you rush out to your local steakhouse. What makes a food nutrient dense is the amount of nutritional value it supplies in relation to calories. Lean meat compares very favorably to chicken and fish in this regard. However, those homey short rib stews and gargantuan porterhouse steaks supply massive amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol and calories along with their vitamins and minerals. While they're OK as occasional indulgences, they hardly constitute the basis for a healthy diet. Lean cuts of beef include round steak or roast, sirloin or tenderloin steak, and chuck pot roast. Leg of lamb is also relatively low in fat, and can be cut up into steaks or cubed for stew as well as roasted. Pork may be the "other white meat," but most people count it in the red meat category. While pigs certainly have a fatty reputation, in truth contemporary pork is much leaner than it used to be. Tenderloin is a low fat and versatile cut. It can be roasted, sliced thin for sandwiches, sauteed as cutlets, or cubed for stews. Beefalo (a hybrid of cattle and buffalo) meat has all the nutrients of beef, less cholesterol and fat than chicken, and doesn't seem to raise LDL ("bad" cholesterol) levels in the blood.

Portion size is also important. Most Americans are used to a huge chunk of meat in the center of their plate. A three to four ounce portion (about the size of your fist) supplies all the nutrients you need. One of the best ways to accomplish this while still filling your stomach is to combine the meat with grains and vegetables. Most cultures base their cuisine around such dishes - pastas, stews, stir fries, etc.

The other crucial issue is how the meat is raised. Our family's gradual shift from vegetarianism is directly related to the rise in availability of free-range meat. Free range ranches or farms are smaller than huge agribusiness complexes, better for the rural economy and with a lesser environmental impact. For what it's (perhaps hypocritically) worth, the animals live a happier life before slaughtering. The meat is far leaner because the animals run around instead of staying cooped up in feedlots, and free of growth hormones and antibiotics. Perhaps the most significant difference is in the nutritional value. Traditionally, animals were grassfed - they grazed on pastureland. Over the past fifty years, most meat producers shifted over to grain feeds, in order to promote more rapid growth. Most of our nutritional data on meat is based on these grainfed animals. But farm animals, like humans, are what they eat. Meat of grassfed cattle contains four times as much vitamin E as feedlot cattle, more than five times as much beta carotene, and more omega 3 fatty acids. They also contain more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which may exert an anticarcinogenic effect.

Currently, free-range meat is considerably more costly than its agribusiness alternative. For instance, in our local natural foods store, free-range stew beef costs $3.99 a pound, way more than at the Safeway. However,if you're eating meat once or twice a week, and in three ounce portions, meat fits within a prudent food budget.

In conclusion, if you morally object to eating meat, I am not about to sway you from your conviction. But if you've been avoiding red meat solely for health reasons, give into that occasional craving for a hamburger - your body may be trying to tell you something.

Wendy Gordon is a writer and restaurant reviewer who lives in Portland, Oregon. She has a Masters Degree in Clinical Nutrition from the University of Chicago, and is on the Board of Directors of Food Front Grocery, a co-op in Portland.