Animal Protein

Red Meat

In the news recently there has been a lot of controversy over whether or not red meat is a healthful food and whether or not it causes cancer.

We’ve been eating meat since the beginning of time, but the meat we evolved on makes up for a very small fraction of what is available to us today.

The truth is that all the studies that have said it is a cancer and other disease causing food are flawed studies that combine a McDonald’s bacon cheeseburger with the list of high standards meat must have to be a healthful food.

There is absolutely no evidence to support that the following classifications of meat are bad for you however a lot to support how healthful it is:

Beef, Lamb,  Pork, Buffalo and other game meats:

- 100% grass-fed and finished (No grain or corn fed at any point of the animal’s life)

– 100% hormone & antibiotic-free

-Not processed (No breakfast sausage, pepperoni, salami, deli meat, canned/frozen meats, beef jerky, corned beef, bacon, hotdogs, etc)

-Organic either certified or grown to organic standards (animal must live outdoors)

If you follow these guidelines, red meat is definitely not something to avoid. Any investigation can pretty clearly point to how this is possible, because most places that you’d buy red meat at, either restaurants or stores, don’t offer meat that meets these standards.

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Poultry

Poultry is less often accused of causing major health risks, but there are still qualifications that it should meet if money allows it:

- Free range (Non organic is actually better in this case. With organic chickens, even free range, they must be kept in a barn to ensure they eat only organic feed.

Non organic allows them to be outside and eat their natural diet consisting of grasses, insects, worms,  and whatever else they find in the area, as well as the feed that is provided for them)

- 100% hormone & antibiotic-free

- Skinless (if not free range)
- Not processed (No turkey bacon, packaged turkey / chicken sausage, jerky, deli meat, etc)

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Fish

- Wild (not farmed)

- Primarily Small (To help avoid mercury exposure, it is better to stay away from large fish)

- If canned, must be packaged in water only (no salt, phosphates, or vegetable oil)

LEAST MERCURY
Anchovies
Butterfish
Catfish
Clam
Crab (Domestic)
Crawfish/Crayfish
Croaker (Atlantic)
Flounder
Haddock (Atlantic)
Hake
Herring
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
Plaice
Pollock
Salmon (Canned)
Salmon (Fresh)
Sardine
Scallop
Shad (American)
Shrimp
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Tilapia
Trout (Freshwater)
Whitefish
Whiting

MODERATE MERCURY
Bass (Striped, Black)
Carp
Cod (Alaskan)
Croaker (White Pacific)
Halibut (Atlantic)
Halibut (Pacific)
Jacksmelt (Silverside)
Lobster
Mahi Mahi
Monkfish
Perch (Freshwater)
Sablefish
Skate
Snapper
Tuna (Canned chunk light)
Tuna (Skipjack)
Weakfish (Sea Trout)

HIGH MERCURY
Eat three servings or less per month:
 Bluefish
Grouper
Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)
Sea Bass (Chilean)
Tuna (Canned Albacore)
Tuna (Yellowfin)

HIGHEST MERCURY
Avoid eating:
Mackerel (King)
Marlin
Orange Roughy
Shark
Swordfish
Tilefish
Tuna (Bigeye, Ahi)

Mercury Source: http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp