Meat: What Kinds and How Much to Eat
By Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
While one weight loss meal plan may recommend avoiding meat entirely, another may endorse eating meat at every meal and snack. With so much conflicting information, it’s hard to decipher what role meat can actually play in a healthy diet.
From a nutritional perspective, meat has a lot to offer. It’s high in protein and provides several vitamins and minerals that help your body function. However, the type of meat and how it’s prepared makes a difference.
Read on to learn more about how much meat is OK to eat, plus which types of meat to choose over others. This post focuses on the nutrition of meat and does not touch on environmental or ethical considerations.
How much meat should you eat?
The amount of meat that’s recommended to consume as part of a balanced diet can be thought of as an amount per meal as well as a weekly total. For example, the general recommendation for a portion of meat at a meal is about 3 to 4 ounces or the size of a deck of cards.
The suggested total intake of meat on a weekly basis, according to the United States Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines, is approximately 23 to 33 ounces, depending on the total calories you eat per day. This recommendation includes meats, poultry, and eggs. The suggested weekly intake of seafood is about 8 to 10 ounces per week.
What types of meat are best?
Even though guidelines for meat intake tend to group meats together, not all meat is created equal.
Certain meats are high in saturated fat. Eating too much saturated fat has been associated with an increased risk of certain diseases, especially heart disease. The research on this link is mixed, but most experts are still recommending limiting saturated fat intake, especially for those with heart disease or at risk of developing it.
Therefore, it’s best to choose leaner cuts of meat that are lower in saturated fat. 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. Most meats are a good source of iron, vitamin B12, selenium, and several other micronutrients.
What types of meat should be limited?
In addition to picking cuts of meat that are leaner and lower in saturated fat, choose healthy preparation methods. Opt for baking or boiling, instead of frying. For example, go for baked chicken breasts over fried chicken.
It’s also a good idea to limit highly processed meats. These include many deli meats, bacon, sausage, and hot dogs that are often loaded with sodium and possibly carcinogenic compounds.
Note from Healthy For Life Meals: We incorporate healthful, lean meats in our menus, such as chicken breasts and ground beef, and limit them to the recommended amounts. Most meal prep companies place little or no importance on limiting saturated fats, and in fact, don’t even include this important information on their meal labels. Healthy For Life Meals puts proper nutrition first. This is just one of the reasons why we’re the best healthy meal service out there! If you’re looking for a meat-free option, we also have a vegetarian menu that’s just as delicious. Check out our traditional and vegetarian menus, and order today.