Meat is one of the indispensable ingredients on people's dining tables, among which lean meat has the best nutritional content, containing about 20% protein, 1%-15% fat, 1% minerals, and the rest is water. The energy supplied by various meats also varies greatly depending on the fat content. Generally speaking, pork, beef, and mutton contain relatively high levels of saturated fat, while poultry, chicken, and rabbit meat contain less saturated fat.
Meat is rich in minerals, especially iron, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, etc., but contains less calcium. Lean meat is also a good source of vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin B12. The vitamin B1 content in lean pork is quite high.
According to tests, lean meat contains vitamin B1, and vitamin B1 stays in the human body for a very short time. Eating some garlic with meat not only can increase the utilization rate of vitamin B1 by several times but also can change its original water-soluble nature into a fat-soluble one. This has important nutritional significance for promoting blood circulation, eliminating physical fatigue as soon as possible, and improving physical fitness. Therefore, when eating meat, don't forget to eat a few cloves of garlic. These days, when cooking meat dishes, I always try to learn from my mother and add some garlic to stir-fry. My favorite dish when I was a child was stir-fried pork with garlic. I still remember my mother quickly pulling a handful of green garlic from the field, cooking it with pork at home, and adding some red chili peppers. It was not only beautiful in color but also full of flavor. When such a fragrant and delicious dish was served on the table, my sisters and I would each eat two big bowls of rice—it was so fragrant! There is a dish in Sichuan cuisine that includes garlic, which everyone has eaten—Double-cooked Pork. The meat with garlic not only tastes fragrant but also nutritionally complements and enhances each other.
It is worth noting: allicin will quickly lose its effect when heated, so it should not be cooked for a long time during cooking. It can only be stir-fried over high heat to prevent the active ingredients from being destroyed. The more garlic you eat, the better is not true. Eating one clove of raw garlic (about 5 grams) or two to three cloves of cooked garlic per day is sufficient.
Is it healthy to not eat meat?
Indeed, eating too much red meat can pose many health risks, such as the "three highs" that people worry about. But this does not mean that red meat should be seen as a terrible scourge and not eaten at all. Red meats like pork, beef, and mutton are rich in iron. This is heme iron. If you don't eat it at all, you will lack heme iron, which can lead to anemia. Many vegetarians insist that fruits and vegetables also contain a lot of iron, such as spinach and red dates. But in fact, the iron in fruits and vegetables is non-heme iron, which is difficult for the human body to absorb.
Therefore, the most important thing in a diet is balance. Red meat can be eaten, but it must be in moderation. It is also unwise to refuse to eat without red meat. Of course, it is recommended to eat lean meat mainly, as fatty meat has a higher content of saturated fatty acids.