Cancer Council recommends: avoiding processed meats such as frankfurts, salami, bacon and ham, which are high in fat and salt. limiting consumption of burnt or charred meat. choosing lean cuts of meat and poultry and eating more fish and plenty of plant-based foods such as fruit, vegetables and wholegrain cereals.
In general, red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) have more saturated fat than skinless chicken, fish and plant proteins. Saturated fats can raise your blood cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. If you eat poultry, pork, beef or other meats, choose lean meat, skinless poultry, and unprocessed forms.
Eating too much red meat could be bad for your health
Sizzling steaks and juicy burgers are staples in many people's diets. But research has shown that regularly eating red meat and processed meat can raise the risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and certain cancers, especially colorectal cancer.
In addition to dietary cholesterol, typical chicken servings are about 50% fat, and 30% of that is saturated or “unhealthy” fat, which stimulates the body's production of cholesterol.
When it comes to overall health, saturated fat should be limited as much as possible. Lamb typically has more saturated fat — which can raise your levels of bad cholesterol, putting you at higher risk of cardiovascular disease — than beef or pork.
Lamb and beef have similar calories, total fat, protein, vitamin, and mineral content—but lamb (especially grass-fed lamb) is the winner when it comes to omega-3 fat content. Grass-fed lamb also has higher quantities of the healthy fat CLA, which is beneficial for cognitive, cardiovascular, and metabolic health.
#1 Turkey and Chicken
These birds do not produce methane and need less food and water than sheep and cows. If you want to minimise your carbon footprint without giving up meat, chicken is your best option.
A healthy balanced diet can include protein from meat, as well as from fish and eggs or non-animal sources such as beans and pulses. Meats such as chicken, pork, lamb and beef are all rich in protein. Red meat provides us with iron, zinc and B vitamins. Meat is one of the main sources of vitamin B12 in the diet.
"Ribeye is one of the worst steaks to order," says Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, author of Finally Full, Finally Slim. "It is marbled with fat and full of saturated fat as well. This type of fat is unhealthy for the heart as it can raise your LDL 'unhealthy' cholesterol and can clog arteries."
Eating raw or undercooked pork can also result in trichinosis, an infection of parasitic roundworms called Trichinella. While trichinosis symptoms are usually mild, they can become serious — even fatal — especially in older adults. To avoid parasitic infection, always cook pork thoroughly.
Bacon and other smoked, cured and processed meats are usually treated with nitrates or nitrites—chemical added to preserve shelf life and enhance color. Diets high in processed meats have been linked to chronic health conditions including migraines, asthma, heart failure, kidney disease and several types of cancer.
Kangaroo is a lean meat with less than 2% fat, making it a healthier red meat option. It is also high in protein, essential B vitamins, minerals such as zinc, iron and omega 3 fats and omega 6 fatty acids. Compared to beef, kangaroo contains double the amount of iron and triple that of chicken and pork.
While they are both excellent sources of protein and add to your nutrient profile, the benefits of fish tend to be slightly higher than chicken, especially when it comes to the Omega-3 content in it.
Lamb has healthy fats.
They can help reduce levels of "bad" cholesterol in your blood, lowering your risk for heart disease and stroke.
Lean meats like chicken or turkey contain less saturated fat than beef or lamb. Swap lamb for roast chicken to save up to 241kcal, 30g of fat and 15.5g saturated fat. Chicken breast is often the most popular cut and it's lower in fat than dark meat like drumsticks and thighs.