Meat also has its "heavy hitters".

Introduction: Nowadays, more and more people are starting to eat less meat or even avoid it in the name of health. There's also a joke that says rural people don't understand city people: "We started eating meat like the city folk, but now they've all gone vegetarian." How can one eat meat nutritiously? This has become a hot topic of concern for many.​

Too Much Meat Harms the "Heart" and "Brain"​

Scientific research has found that early humans only ate fruits and vegetables, not meat. It wasn't until the post-glacial period, when the supply of fruits, nuts, and vegetables was insufficient, that they began to eat meat from dead animals to survive. But after the glacial period, with plant-based foods abundant again, the habit of eating meat continued. In real life, many of us around us are "carnivores," who can't have a meal without hamburgers, grilled meat, roast duck, or braised pork. According to data from the 2002 National Nutrition Survey, the daily consumption of animal foods by urban and rural residents in China was 248 grams and 126 grams respectively, while the standard given by the Chinese Nutrition Society is only 50-75 grams per day.​In fact, there has been much controversy about eating meat in ancient China. The "Lüshi Chunqiu - Chong Ji" pointed out that those who are good at nourishing life "do not savor many delicacies," because "savoring many delicacies fills the stomach, and when the stomach is full, one feels bloated, and when bloated, the qi cannot circulate." The "many delicacies" mainly referred to animal foods like fish, birds, and beasts. The ancients believed that eating too much of these would stagnate the spleen and stomach's digestive function and affect the smooth flow of qi and blood. Now, more and more experiments are proving that excessive meat consumption is very harmful to the human body: In the United States, there are at least 1 million new heart disease patients each year, and nearly 600,000 die from it. A report from the U.S. Heart Disease Research Committee pointed out that most of these heart disease patients are due to eating too much meat, too few vegetables, and too little exercise. In addition, high meat consumption is also closely related to metabolic diseases such as high blood lipids and obesity. Recently, the British "Daily Mail" even published an article stating that seemingly unrelated diseases such as arthritis, gallstones, Alzheimer's disease, and osteoporosis are also inextricably linked to eating too much meat. When humans become "carnivores," it not only causes physical harm but also "causes the human brain to secrete excessive dopamine and abnormal acetylcholine activity, leading to irritability, strong desires, and affecting intelligence," Wang Guorong, a senior supervisor at Suzhou Rongge Psychological Center, told reporters.​​

The Meats​Yang Li, a professor of health preservation at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, said: "Eating too much meat is not good, but from a nutritional perspective, giving up meat is not the way to health. A balanced diet is what we advocate." Li Xingmin, an associate professor at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University, explained that from an agricultural perspective, meat is generally divided into three categories: livestock, poultry, and aquatic products. Pigs, cattle, and sheep are livestock; chickens, ducks, and geese are poultry; and fish, shrimp, and shellfish are aquatic. These three types of meat have different flavors and nutritional values, and are suitable for different groups of people.​​

Beef: The Strongest Meat

​

Beef is most suitable for those who are physically weak and mentally declining. The amino acid composition of beef protein is closer to human needs than pork, which can improve the body's disease resistance. It is especially suitable for people in growth and development, or for post-operative and post-illness recovery to supplement blood loss and repair tissues. However, the muscle fibers of beef are relatively coarse and not easy to digest, and it has high cholesterol and fat, so the elderly, young children, and people with weak digestion should not eat too much.​​

Here, Xiaomei carefully recommends a few beef recipes for you:

                                                【Mushroom Beef Spaghetti】 

Lamb: The Most Nourishing Meat​

Lamb has the effects of helping the original yang, nourishing essence and blood, and treating lung deficiency. It is quite beneficial for patients with asthma, bronchitis, lung diseases, and deficiency-cold. It can also benefit the kidneys, strengthen yang, tonify deficiency, resist cold, and strengthen the body, making it a precious nourishing food for winter. However, it should be noted that lamb is inherently warm in nature and is not suitable for everyone. Those with yin deficiency and excessive fire, coughing with much phlegm, indigestion, arthritis, eczema, or fever should avoid it.​​

Here, Xiaomei carefully recommends a few lamb recipes for you:

                            【Broad Bean Shredded Pork】                            【White Radish Lamb Stew】   

Pork: The Most Iron-Rich Meat​

Pork varies greatly in fat content. Fat pork has a high fat content and low protein content, and eating too much can easily lead to high blood lipids and obesity. Most protein is concentrated in lean meat, and lean meat also contains hemoglobin, which can play a role in supplementing iron and preventing anemia. The hemoglobin in meat is better absorbed than that in plants, so the effect of supplementing iron with lean meat is better than eating vegetables.​Because the fiber tissue of pork is relatively soft and contains a large amount of intramuscular fat, it is easier to digest and absorb than beef. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that eating more lean pork has the effect of nourishing yin and moistening dryness, and has a certain therapeutic effect on diseases such as heat injury to body fluids, dry cough, and constipation.​​

Here, Xiaomei carefully recommends a few pork recipes for you:

                           【Dried Vegetable Braised Pork】                           【Asparagus and Chili Stir-fried Shredded Pork】 

Chicken: The Least Fatty Meat​

The chicken referred to here is skinless chicken, because almost all of the chicken's fat is in the skin. Every 100 grams of skinless chicken contains 24 grams of protein but only 0.7 grams of fat. Chicken has a good therapeutic effect on malnutrition, aversion to cold, fatigue, irregular menstruation, anemia, and weakness.​Fish and Shrimp: The Most Micronutrient-Rich Meat​Fish and shrimp are extremely rich in trace elements, containing calcium, aluminum, iron, manganese, copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc, iodine, chlorine, sulfur, etc., all of which are essential for the human body. Although aquatic products are rich in nutrients, they should not be eaten in excess. Affected by marine pollution, aquatic products often contain toxins and harmful substances, and excessive consumption can easily damage the spleen and stomach, causing gastrointestinal diseases.​​

Here, Xiaomei carefully recommends a few chicken recipes for you:

                       【Carrot and Corn Chicken Soup】                       【Quail Eggs Braised with Chicken】

75 Grams of Meat Per Day, the Size of a Deck of Cards​

Yu Kang, deputy director of the Clinical Nutrition Department at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and Song Xin, deputy director of the Nutrition Department at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, both stated that the protein in meat can be obtained from milk and beans, but B vitamins, essential fatty acids, and minerals such as zinc and iron cannot be replaced by vegetables and fruits. "Therefore, we don't not need meat, but we don't need too much of it," Yu said.​Zhai Fengying, secretary-general of the Chinese Nutrition Society, stated that the "Dietary Balance Pagoda" clearly indicates that a person should consume 75 grams of lean meat per day, which is a piece the size of a deck of playing cards. As for vegetables, it is best to consume about 500 grams per day. "Unfortunately, many people now eat these two things in reverse."​Yang Li said that meat is divided into red meat and white meat. Red meat refers to meat that is red before cooking.