Meat Myths

Eating red meat, especially beef, has gotten a bad rap over the last two decades for being high in fat. There are 29 cuts of beef that are deemed lean, less than 10 grams of fat per 3.5 ounce serving (American Heart Association). All of these cuts have less total fat than a skinless chicken thigh which has 6.1 grams of fat per 3.5 ounce serving (Foster Farms). The low fat cuts include those steaks with “loin” in the name- sirloin, tenderloin. There also several roasts such as eye of round, chuck, and arm roasts which are also considered a lean protein source.

E. Coli anxiety has caused many people to rethink purchasing beef products. Remember, the scare earlier this decade because of spinach? Many steps have been taken to ensure very little to no e.coli is in beef products during harvesting. Carcasses are steam cleaned and care is taken during removal of the hide to reduce possible contamination. Ground beef is of the biggest concerns of all beef products due to the available surface area for bacteria to grow. The answer is simple- cook your ground beef until no pink is left in the meat or about 160 degrees Fahrenheit and do not order burgers anything but well done.

Implants in cattle are horrible- if unscientific sensational speculations are to be believed. Actually a half a pound of beef from an implanted animal has *1.9 nanograms of estrogen equivalent or about *30,000 times less estrogen than what is produced by the average man. Half a pound of potatoes has *245 nanograms of estrogen equivalent. Oh no, there rears the ugly head of white starches again but that is another story.