Nutrients in Beef and Lamb

With today's hectic lifestyle it is often difficult to make sure your body gets everything it needs for vitality and well-being.
No single food contains all the nutrients needed for health, so it is recommended that we eat a balanced diet containing a wide variety of different foods.
Lean red meats, such as beef, are an important source of highly available iron and zinc, high quality protein, B-vitamins, and a range of other nutrients essential for optimal health at every stage of life.
Today's beef is also much lower in fat than ever before, and lean cuts can form an important part of a low fat diet.

Keep it Lean – Reduce the amount of fat in your diet by:

• Choosing lean cuts of beef & lamb when you shop.
  
• Looking out for low-fat versions of popular beef products like sausages or burgers.
  
• Checking other ingredients of the recipe or meal and swapping them for low-fat alternatives.
  
• Not adding extra fat in food preparation where possible.
  
• If you do add fat then use oils such as olive, sunflower or corn oil.

Protein – Beef and lamb are extremely rich sources of protein, which is needed for growth, repair and maintenance of body tissues. Beef and lamb protein is a complete protein, containing all amino acids including the 8 essential ones, in the ideal proportions for use by the human body.

Lean beef and lamb provide the ideal combination of amino acids for efficient use by humans for optimum growth.

Iron – Iron deficiency is one of the most commonly reported nutritional disorders. Most at risk are young children and teenagers whose growth demands are great, the elderly whose diets are often lacking, and women who are pregnant or of childbearing age.

Red meat is one of the richest sources of iron. Not only that, but much of the iron in red meat is in the form of haem-iron, which is more easily absorbed by our bodies than iron from plant sources. Red meat also helps absorption of iron from vegetables and cereals when eaten in the same meal. Iron is required to form haemoglobin in red blood cells and is key to optimal energy metabolism. It is involved in enzyme systems throughout the body and helps maximise physical and mental performance.
Red meat is one of the few dietary sources of highly bio available haem iron.

Zinc – Zinc is essential for normal growth and development. It is important in many processes, such as bone and hair formation, wound healing, and helping our immune system ward off infections.

Beef and lamb are one of nature's best sources of zinc, where it is present in a highly bio available form. Beef and lamb can also increase absorption of zinc from vegetables and cereals when eaten as part of the same meal.

A 100g portion of lean beef or lamb provides approximately 75 % of a female's daily requirement for zinc.

B-vitamins – Beef and lamb are an important source of B vitamins, including B₁ (thiamine), B₂(riboflavin), B₁₆, B₁₂ and niacin. These vitamins are essential for metabolic reactions involved in normal body functioning. Beef and lamb are particularly good sources of vitamin B₁₂, which only occur naturally in foods of animal origin. It works with folate to prevent anaemia, helps DNA synthesis and is essential for a healthy nervous system.

As vitamin B₁₂ is found only in foods of animal origin, beef and lamb are therefore one of the few dietary sources of the vitamin.

Omega Fatty Acids – These are required for maximum brain efficiency and learning, and also play a controlling factor in the cardiovascular and immune systems of the body. They must be supplied by the diet to reach the levels required for improved brain, heart, and immune function. Beef and lamb are rich sources of these fatty acids.

Scottish animals that are grass-fed and provide beef and lamb which is higher in omega-3 fatty acids.