Least healthy meats
Processed Meats: Notably, there are over 200 types of cold cuts and processed meats. These include hot dogs, bologna, and Vienna sausages. Processed meat is often made of less healthy organs like the stomach, lips, and heart.
So what is the healthiest meat? Kangaroo is technically the healthiest it has the lowest amount of Kilojules per serving. If you're not into kangaroo, some other options are- Fish with a low level of mercury, an extra trim eye fillet steak, chicken breast, pork fillet.
Compared to beef, chicken is a better source of protein. As a result of its high-fat content, beef is a higher fat and higher calorie meat. Chicken has more vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B1, B3, and B5. However, beef is significantly higher in folate and vitamin B12.
As far as meat options go, consuming leaner, less-processed meats more often than fattier and processed meats (like hot dogs, sausages, bacon and deli meats) is recommended. "Fattier and processed meats typically contain more saturated fat and sodium than leaner cuts of red meat, chicken and turkey," Sollid says.
Nutrient Dense Red Meat
Sure, ostrich is a red meat and it probably makes sense that it's packed with protein and iron. So what qualifies it as a superfood? Compared to many other meats, ostrich is a better source of vitamins and minerals.
Bison. This is one of the leanest red meats, which makes it healthier from the start. But there's more: Compared to beef with the same fat content, bison doesn't make as many of the fatty plaques that can clog your arteries and lead to heart disease.
try to limit processed meat products such as sausages, salami, pâté and beefburgers, because these are generally high in fat – they are often high in salt, too. try to limit meat products in pastry, such as pies and sausage rolls, because they are often high in fat and salt.
Finally, health experts say to stay away from processed meats, which are generally considered to be unhealthy. These include any meat that has been smoked, salted, cured, dried, or canned. Compared to fresh meat, processed meats are high in sodium and can have double the amount of nitrates.
Processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, salami and cold cuts, contain high levels of preservatives. Sodium, for example, raises blood pressure and stroke risk, while the body converts nitrites to cancer-causing nitrosamines. Lean or not, these products aren't healthy.
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.
And people who don't eat meat, called vegetarians, generally eat fewer calories and less fat. They also tend to weigh less. And they have a lower risk of heart disease than nonvegetarians do. Research shows that people who eat red meat are at a higher risk of death from heart disease, stroke or diabetes.
Common superfoods include:
Beans like kidney beans, black beans and soybeans. Berries like blueberries, cranberries, strawberries and blackberries. Broccoli.
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.
The Cancer Council advises that meat eaters should limit red meat to three or four times a week (no more than 700g raw weight per week) and choose fish, chicken and legumes on other days. Processed meats should be cut out or minimised. Then, of course, there's our heart health.
Examples of processed meats include bacon, jerky, hot dogs, salami, and ham. These types of meat are often high in salt and low in nutrients. They also tend to be calorie-dense compared with lean protein sources, such as poultry, fish, and beans.
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) Healthy U.S.-Style Eating Pattern recommends the average person eat 26 ounces of poultry (including chicken) per week. Per day, this would be roughly the same as eating 3.5 ounces of chicken breast.
Seafood: A Healthy Alternative to Meat. There are a few key differences between seafood and red meat. For one, seafood is generally lower in calories and saturated fat than red meat. It's also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are linked to heart health.
So there you have it: The rundown of which meats are highest in protein. Chicken breast and lean cuts of beef are top choices, offering high protein-per-gram ratios. Turkey breast, bison, venison, pork tenderloin, fish, chicken drumsticks, lean beef, lamb, and chicken thigh are also solid high-protein options.
Stick with round, sirloin, or loin.
The National Cattleman's Beef Association top five lean cuts are: Eye of round – 1.4 g saturated fat, 4 g total fat. Sirloin tip side steak – 1.6 g saturated fat, 4.1 g total fat. Top round roast and Steak – 1.6 g saturated fat, 4.6 g total fat.
The difference in calories between lamb and chicken is largely from the difference in fat content. Lamb is higher in fat, with 9 g in an 100 g serving of sirloin, while 100 g of chicken breast contains just 3.6 g. Lamb also contains 3 g of saturated fat, compared to just 1 g in chicken breast.